The car not only is economical but also feels good to drive.
I identified with Rowan Atkinson not only as an actor but also as a person.
Yes, both sentences, as they stand, are perfectly acceptable English, but I wonder if one can correctly rewrite them without the word also. If not, why not?
Best Answer
Strictly, the idiom requires parallelism. Not is paralleled by but, and only also needs a parallel. It need not be also; it may be too or as well or in addition, anything which will complete the contrast with only:
You may very well hear the also or equivalent dropped in speech. This is not a casual use, but a (venial) mistake which occurs because in speech we often lose track of our syntax.