Correlative Structures (Não Só ... Mas Também) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A correlative is a pair of connectors that work as a team to link two parallel elements: não só X mas também Y ("not only X but also Y"), tanto X quanto Y ("both X and Y"), nem X nem Y ("neither X nor Y"). Neither half can stand alone — once you say não só, the listener is waiting for the mas também to land. These structures are the backbone of polished, balanced sentences in writing and careful speech, and getting their internal grammar right (especially verb agreement) is what separates B2 fluency from intermediate guesswork.

The major correlative pairs

Correlative	Meaning	Register
não só ... mas também	not only ... but also	neutral / formal
não apenas ... como também	not just ... but also	formal variant
tanto ... quanto / como	both ... and	neutral
nem ... nem	neither ... nor	neutral
ou ... ou	either ... or	neutral
ora ... ora	now ... now / sometimes ... sometimes	literary
quer ... quer	whether ... or	formal / literary
seja ... seja	whether ... or	neutral / formal

The underlying logic is the same in all of them: the first connector announces that a parallel structure is coming, and the second closes the pair. Whatever follows the first connector should be grammatically the same kind of thing as what follows the second — two nouns, two verb phrases, two clauses. This parallelism is the whole point.

Não só ... mas também

This is the workhorse "not only ... but also" pair. The variants não somente, não apenas (more formal) and the closers mas também, como também, mas ainda are largely interchangeable.

Ela não só passou no concurso, mas também tirou a maior nota.

She not only passed the public exam but also got the highest score.

O filme não apenas emociona, como também faz pensar.

The film not only moves you but also makes you think.

When não só opens the sentence (fronted for emphasis), the subject and verb invert in the first clause — a feature English shares ("Not only did she pass..."):

Não só chegou atrasado, como ainda reclamou da comida.

Not only did he arrive late, he even complained about the food. (informal narration)

💡

The closer is flexible — mas também, como também, mas ainda, mas igualmente all work. What you cannot do is mismatch the halves: não só must be answered by one of these closers, never left hanging or paired with a bare e ("and").

Tanto ... quanto: agreement matters

Tanto ... quanto (or tanto ... como) means "both ... and." Here is the first real trap: when tanto modifies a noun, it agrees in gender and number with that noun, just like an adjective.

Tanto a Ana quanto o irmão dela falam alemão.

Both Ana and her brother speak German.

Preciso de tantos voluntários quanto possível.

I need as many volunteers as possible.

But when tanto ... quanto simply joins two whole phrases (rather than acting as a quantifier on a noun), it stays invariable:

Ele trabalha tanto de dia quanto de noite.

He works both by day and by night.

When two singular subjects are joined by tanto ... quanto, the verb goes plural, because the structure adds them together:

Tanto o governo quanto a oposição apoiaram a medida.

Both the government and the opposition supported the measure.

Nem ... nem: inherently negative

Nem ... nem ("neither ... nor") is special because nem is itself a negative word. This connects directly to Portuguese negative concord: the position of the structure relative to the verb decides whether you also need não.

If the nem ... nem phrase comes before the verb, no não is used:

Nem tempo nem dinheiro eu tenho pra isso.

I have neither the time nor the money for that. (fronted, emphatic)

If it comes after the verb, you must add não before the verb — exactly the double-negation rule:

Não tenho nem tempo nem dinheiro pra isso.

I have neither time nor money for that.

Both sentences are correct and mean the same thing; the difference is word order and emphasis. With two singular subjects joined by nem ... nem, BR usage allows either singular or plural agreement, with plural being increasingly common and singular sounding more formal:

Nem o pai nem a mãe sabiam da notícia.

Neither the father nor the mother knew the news. (plural — common)

💡

Because nem is negative, a pre-verbal nem ... nem phrase already negates the clause — adding não would be wrong. A post-verbal one needs não. This is the same position rule that governs all Portuguese negatives, applied to a correlative.

Ou ... ou, ora ... ora, quer ... quer

Ou ... ou ("either ... or") presents an exclusive choice. With two singular subjects it usually takes a singular verb (the choice points to one or the other), though plural is heard:

Ou você decide agora ou a gente perde a reserva.

Either you decide now or we lose the reservation.

Ora ... ora (literary) describes alternation over time — first one thing, then another:

O tempo estava instável: ora chovia, ora fazia sol.

The weather was unstable: now it rained, now it was sunny.

Quer ... quer and seja ... seja express "whether ... or," signalling that the outcome holds in every case:

Quer chova, quer faça sol, o jogo acontece amanhã.

Whether it rains or shines, the game happens tomorrow. (formal)

Verb agreement: the summary rule

The single question that resolves most agreement doubts is whether the correlative adds the subjects together or picks between them:

Correlative	Logic	Verb with two singular subjects
tanto ... quanto	adds (both)	plural
não só ... mas também	adds (and more)	plural
nem ... nem	adds (both excluded)	plural preferred, singular formal
ou ... ou	picks one	singular preferred

English contrasts worth noting

English correlatives map fairly closely, but three differences trip up Brazilians and English speakers alike. First, tanto agrees with its noun, whereas English "both" never changes. Second, nem ... nem interacts with the obligatory pre-verbal não — English "neither ... nor" never needs a helper negative. Third, Portuguese keeps the parallelism strict: where English tolerates a slightly loose not only she passed but also got the top score, careful Portuguese wants the same grammatical category after each half of the pair.

Tanto eu quanto você sabemos que isso não vai dar certo.

Both you and I know this isn't going to work out. (verb 'sabemos' is 1st person plural)

Note in that example the verb is sabemos (we know): when the subjects are different persons, the verb takes the higher-priority person — first person beats second, second beats third — and goes plural. This is a refinement English simply doesn't have.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ela não só estudou mas e passou.

Incorrect — don't mix the closer 'mas também' with a stray 'e'.

✅ Ela não só estudou, mas também passou.

She not only studied but also passed.

❌ Tanto a Ana quanto a Maria fala inglês.

Incorrect — two subjects joined by 'tanto...quanto' take a plural verb.

✅ Tanto a Ana quanto a Maria falam inglês.

Both Ana and Maria speak English.

❌ Não tenho tempo nem dinheiro... não.

Incorrect — with post-verbal 'nem...nem' you need 'não' before the verb and repeat 'nem'.

✅ Não tenho nem tempo nem dinheiro.

I have neither time nor money.

❌ Tantos pessoas vieram quanto esperávamos.

Incorrect — 'tanto' must agree: 'pessoas' is feminine, so 'tantas'.

✅ Tantas pessoas vieram quanto esperávamos.

As many people came as we expected.

The most common underlying error is forgetting that tanto is an adjective-like quantifier that agrees, while quanto (as the second half) stays fixed. Lock in tantos voluntários quanto, tantas pessoas quanto and the pattern generalizes.

Key Takeaways

Correlatives come in fixed pairs — open with one connector, close with its partner, never mix.
Tanto agrees with its noun; quanto does not.
Nem ... nem is negative: pre-verbal it drops não, post-verbal it requires não.
"Adding" correlatives (tanto...quanto, não só...mas também) take plural verbs; "picking" ones (ou...ou) lean singular.
Keep both halves grammatically parallel — same category after each connector.

Now practice Portuguese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Portuguese→