Every-so-often Grammar/Phrase/Word

Never drink from your finger bowl -- it contains only water.

~だけで[は]なく~[も] (~ dake de [wa] naku ~ [mo])

2004-03-21
~だけで[は]なく~[も] (~ dake de [wa] naku ~ [mo])
Basic meaning: not only ~, but also ~
Comments: not only X, but also Y, where X and Y can be either nouns, verbs, or adjectives
Key sentences:
  1. あの人はよく勉強するだけではなくよく遊ぶ。
    ano hito wa yoku benkyou suru dake de wa naku yoku asobu.
    That person not only studies hard (lit. a lot), he plays hard (lit. a lot) too.
  2. この家はきれいなだけではなくとても安い。
    kono ie wa kirei na dake de wa naku totemo yasui.
    This house is not only pretty, but also very inexpensive.
  3. ジョンだけでなくメアリーも来た。
    jon dake de naku mearii mo kita.
    Not only John, but also Mary came.
Formation: {noun,adjective,predicate} だけで[は]なく {noun,adjective,predicate} [も]
  • 勉強するだけではなく遊ぶ (benkyou suru dake dewa naku asobu) (= not only studies, but also plays)
  • きれいなだけでなく静か (kirei na dake de naku sizuka) (= not only pretty, but also quiet)
  • 新しいだけでなく安い (atarasii dake de naku yasui) (= not only new, but inexpensive)
  • 先生だけではなく生徒も (sensei dake dewa naku seito mo) (= not only teachers, but also students)
Additional examples:
  1. あの人は小説を読むだけではなく書く。
    ano hito wa shousetu o yomu dake de wa naku kaku.
    That person not only reads novels but also writes them.
  2. 幸子は頭がよかっただけではなく、とても親切だった。
    satiko wa atama ga yokatta dake de wa naku, totemu sinsetu datta.
    Miss Sachiko was not only smart, but also very kind.
Usage notes:
  1. In the form (noun) だけで[は]なく (noun) [も], (NOUN dake de [wa] naku NOUN [mo]), the nouns can be followed by various particles:
    • 手紙は友達[から]だけではなく先生からも来た。
      tegami wa tomodati [kara] dake de wa naku sensei kara mo kita.
      Letters came from not only friends, but also from teachers.
    • 手紙は友達[に]だけではなく先生にも書いた。
      tegami wa tomodati [ni] dake de wa naku sensei ni mo kaita.
      I wrote letters not only to my friends, but also to my teachers.
  2. In most of these cases, だけ (dake) can be replaced by ばかり (bakari). When one needs to define something in an exact or rigid manner, however, だけ should be used. See the following sentence:
    明日までに十課だけでなく十一課も勉強しておきなさい。
    asita made ni jukka dake de naku juuikka mo benkyou site okinasai.
    Study not only lesson 10 but also lesson 11 by tomorrow.
    In this sentence, だけ cannot be replaced by ばかり because the lessons to study need to be defined exactly.
  3. This expression is very emphatic, and so should only be used when a strong emphasis is desired. In the majority of cases, ~も~も (~ mo ~ mo), ~上、~ (~ ue, ~), and ~し、~ (~ si, ~) should be preferred. ~も~も is just used for noun phrases, but the other two can be used for any type of predicate. ~上、~ is slightly emphatic, whereas ~し、~ is not very emphatic at all, having a meaning closer to simply "~, and ~". See the following examples, many of which are rewrites of sentences given elsewhere on this page.
    • あの人はよく勉強する上、よく遊ぶ。
      ano hito wa yoku benkyou suru ue, yoku asobu.
      That person not only studies a lot, but also plays a lot.
      This is a more common and more natural (by way of being less emphatic) way to say what is expressed by key sentence 1.
    • ジョンもメアリーも来た。
      jon mo mearii mo kita.
      Jon and Mary came. -or- Both John and Mary came.
    • あの人は小説を読む上書く。
      ano hito wa shousetu o yomu ue kaku.
      That person not only reads novels but also writes them.
    • 幸子は頭がよかったし、とても親切だった。
      satiko wa atama ga yokatta si, totemu sinsetu datta.
      Miss Sachiko was not only smart, but also very kind.
    • 手紙は友達にも先生にも書いた。
      tegami wa tomodati ni mo sensei ni mo kaita.
      I wrote letters to my friends as well as my teachers.
    • 彼は頭がいいし、スポーツ万能だ。
      kare wa atama ga ii si, supootu-bannou da.
      He's not only intelligent, but also a jock. ("jock" in this sentence has no negative connotation)

Comments

Copyright 2014-12-14 07:03PM
It is AMAZING that you assert copyright over this material when you've ripped it off wholesale from A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar authored by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, and published by The Japan Times.

I've taken some screen captures, for prosperity.

I'm sure The Japan Times is going to love seeing them.
an anonymous outraged
RE: Copyright 2014-12-17 01:27AM
One person mentioned this before some years ago. See my response here. You didn't post a real email address, but I'd be interested if you could send me an image of what's in the book so I can compare.
Copyright 2020-04-06 12:27AM
I have to agree with the previous (2014) anonymous post. I compared this article to my edition of the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar and it is astounding how similar this article is to what is in the book.

Until "formation" everything is exactly the same, you just left out key sentence B, but kept A, C, and D as 1 through 3. The additonal example sentences used in this article are exactly the same as additional example sentences a and d from the dictionary.
Usage note 1 and 2 are also the same, also using exactly the same example sentences. The description slightly differs, but is essentially just the same text with different words (e.g. usage note 2 in the book starts with "In the majority of cases dake can be replaced by bakari. When one needs to define limitation in a rigid way, however, dake is preferable.")
an anonymous SirEdgar

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