Learn English – Syntax of “not only” + “furthermore”

conjunctionssynonymssyntactic-analysis

Can I use not only with furthermore instead of also?

Not only is he tall, he is also heavy.

Can I say or write:

Not only is he tall, he is furthermore heavy.

or (and please tell me if this one is correct):

Not only is he tall, but furthermore he is heavy.

Best Answer

In the sentences you have given:

  • "Not only is he tall, he is furthermore heavy" is incorrect for your context (it appears to imply that he is additionally heavy).
  • "Not only is he tall, but furthermore he is heavy" is relatively better than the first one but should be changed to something like "He is tall and furthermore he is heavy" (see http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/furthermore for a similar sentence).

Use furthermore in place of additionally or moreover or more importantly.

Though it works reasonably well as a replacement of also in cases where it appears at the beginning of a second sentence that provides more information about a preceding sentence, or right after a conjunction such as and, it cannot always be used as an in-place replacement for also, as given in your first example.

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