Question

Combine the sentences using "Not only... but also" conjunction:
The banana fruit is edible. The stem and flowers of the banana are edible.

• A. Not only the banana's fruit, but also its stem and flowers are edible.
• B. The banana fruit is not only edible, but also its stem and flowers.
• C. Not only the banana fruit is edible but also its stem and flowers.
• D. The banana fruit is edible not only, but also, the stem and flowers.

Answer 1

The correct option is A Not only the banana's fruit, but also its stem and flowers are edible.

The conjunction, 'Not only.. but also' is a correlative conjunction, which combines two grammatically equal items. This means that the words which follow both parts (i.e 'not only' as well as 'but also') should belong to the same parts of speech. Using different parts of the speech after 'not only' and 'but also' makes the sentence imbalanced and grammatically incorrect.

Option A: The phrase, 'not only' is followed by 'the banana's fruit', which is a noun phrase. The phrase 'but also' is followed by 'its stem and flowers', which is also a noun phrase. Hence, this option is grammatically correct.

Option B: The phrase, 'not only' is followed by 'edible', which is an adjective describing "the banana fruit". The phrase 'but also' is followed by 'its stem and flowers', which is a noun phrase. Hence, this option is grammatically incorrect.

Option C: When a sentence begins with 'not only, it is followed by an auxiliary verb like 'did'/does'/'is' + subject. In this option, the sentence begins with 'Not Only'. However, this is not immediately followed by any auxiliary verb. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option D: In this sentence, the phrases 'not only' and 'but also' are used together, which is grammatically incorrect.