Correlative Conjunctions (Não só… mas também, Ou… ou) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Correlative conjunctions (conjunções correlativas) are pairs of connectors that work as a single unit. The first element sets up a structure and the second element completes it, and together they bind two parallel pieces of a sentence: two subjects, two verbs, two clauses, two properties, two alternatives. English has the same mechanism in not only… but also, either… or, neither… nor, both… and. Portuguese — especially PT-PT — has a richer and stylistically livelier set, and a few of the pairs have agreement quirks that catch learners off guard.

This page walks through every pair you need, shows where each sits stylistically, and then tackles the single question learners most often get wrong: should the verb be singular or plural?

The full inventory

Pair	English equivalent	Register / use
não só… mas também	not only… but also	neutral, slightly emphatic
não só… como também	not only… but also	neutral (PT-PT common variant)
não só… mas ainda	not only… but also	formal / literary
tanto… como	both… and	neutral, most frequent
tanto… quanto	both… and / as much as	neutral (PT-BR-preferred, used in PT-PT)
nem… nem	neither… nor	neutral
ou… ou	either… or	neutral
ora… ora	now… now (alternating)	literary / descriptive
já… já	sometimes… sometimes	archaic / literary
quer… quer	whether… or	formal / written
seja… seja	whether… or	formal / written
assim… como	both… and / just as	formal, often academic

Não só… mas também — adding with emphasis

The most common pair. It adds a second item while signalling that the first is already notable on its own — "here is one thing, and on top of that, here is another." The two halves must be parallel: two nouns, two adjectives, two verbs, or two full clauses.

A Marta não só fala francês, mas também escreve em francês todos os dias.

Marta not only speaks French, but also writes in French every day.

O Porto é famoso não só pelo vinho, mas também pela sua gastronomia.

Porto is famous not only for its wine, but also for its cuisine.

Não só chegámos atrasados, mas também nos esquecemos das prendas.

Not only did we arrive late, but we also forgot the presents.

In PT-PT, a very common alternative is não só… como também — semantically identical, perhaps slightly more colloquial:

Ele não só percebe de vinhos, como também os produz.

He not only knows about wines, he also produces them.

Position of não só

The standard position is clause-initial (or right before the element being highlighted): Não só o João chegou atrasado… But PT-PT also allows não só after the verb, highlighting the object or complement:

Ele fala não só português, mas também espanhol e italiano.

He speaks not only Portuguese, but also Spanish and Italian.

This post-verbal placement is idiomatic and very common in conversation. Compare the clause-initial version — Ele não só fala português, mas também espanhol e italiano — which shifts the emphasis onto the act of speaking rather than the languages themselves.

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When não só opens the clause and the verb is in the simple tense, there is no inversion in Portuguese — unlike English "not only does he speak". Portuguese keeps the normal SVO order: Ele não só fala…

Tanto… como / tanto… quanto — "both… and"

This is the closest PT-PT equivalent of English both X and Y. Tanto… como is preferred in Portugal; tanto… quanto is more common in Brazilian Portuguese but is also heard and written in PT-PT.

Tanto o meu irmão como a minha irmã vivem em Lisboa.

Both my brother and my sister live in Lisbon.

Ela gosta tanto de comboios como de aviões.

She likes both trains and planes.

Tanto na primavera como no outono, o Alentejo é lindo.

Both in spring and in autumn, the Alentejo is beautiful.

When tanto sits beside a noun, it does not agree with it: it remains invariable in this construction (you say tanto o João como a Maria, not tanta a Maria). The word is acting as an adverb here, not as a quantifier.

Nem… nem — "neither… nor"

Used to deny two possibilities at once. Both nem*s are required — you cannot say *não… nem to mean the same thing with the same emphasis (that is a different, valid construction meaning "not… and not either").

Nem o João nem a Maria sabem tocar piano.

Neither João nor Maria can play the piano.

Nem me telefonou nem me mandou mensagem.

He neither called me nor sent me a message.

Nem hoje nem amanhã consigo ir à reunião.

I can go to the meeting neither today nor tomorrow.

Note: nem… nem is inherently negative and does not need an additional não. Saying Não nem o João nem a Maria sabem… is wrong — one negation is enough.

Ou… ou — "either… or"

Presents two alternatives, one of which will hold. The first ou can be omitted in informal speech (Vamos ou ao cinema ou ao teatro → Vamos ao cinema ou ao teatro), but using both emphasises the exclusivity or urgency of the choice.

Ou vens comigo agora, ou fico aqui sozinho.

Either you come with me now, or I'm staying here alone.

Ou pagam em dinheiro ou com cartão — não aceitamos cheques.

You pay either in cash or by card — we don't accept cheques.

Ou me dizes a verdade ou não volto a falar contigo.

Either you tell me the truth, or I won't speak to you again.

That last example, with ou me dizes… ou não volto, is a classic PT-PT ultimatum pattern and sounds very natural in speech.

Ora… ora — "now… now" (alternating)

This pair belongs mostly to literary and descriptive prose. It marks an alternation between two states or actions, as if the subject is swinging between them.

O bebé ora ria, ora chorava, sem razão aparente.

The baby was now laughing, now crying, for no apparent reason.

O tempo, em abril, é ora sol, ora chuva.

The weather in April is now sun, now rain.

Ela ora afirma que vai, ora diz que não pode.

She sometimes says she'll go, sometimes says she can't.

You rarely hear ora… ora in conversation; in speech, people say às vezes… outras vezes (sometimes… other times) for the same idea.

Quer… quer — "whether… or"

A formal pair used to indicate that the consequence holds regardless of which alternative is true. In English, "whether X or Y, Z happens." It is common in legal and administrative writing.

Quer chova quer faça sol, o jogo realiza-se amanhã.

Whether it rains or is sunny, the game is going ahead tomorrow.

Quer concordes quer não, a decisão já foi tomada.

Whether you agree or not, the decision has already been made.

A lei aplica-se quer sejam portugueses, quer sejam estrangeiros.

The law applies whether they are Portuguese or foreign.

Quer… quer typically takes the subjunctive (present or future) because the condition is hypothetical — the speaker is acknowledging both possibilities without committing to either. This is parallel to seja… seja:

Seja em Lisboa, seja no Porto, ele encontra sempre um bom restaurante.

Whether in Lisbon or in Porto, he always finds a good restaurant.

Verb agreement — the tricky part

When correlative conjunctions join two subjects, Portuguese has to pick a singular or plural verb. The rules are not fully consistent, and educated speakers sometimes disagree.

Tanto… como → usually plural

When the two elements are both present in the sentence, the verb almost always takes the plural:

Tanto o professor como os alunos ficaram satisfeitos com o resultado.

Both the teacher and the students were satisfied with the result.

Tanto eu como ela achamos que foi um erro.

Both she and I think it was a mistake. (1st person plural — the 1st person wins when it's part of the coordination)

Nem… nem → singular or plural, both accepted

This is the thorny one. Traditional grammar allows both agreements, depending on how the speaker conceptualises the subjects:

Singular — treats each subject separately, almost as a distributive; more formal.
Plural — treats them as a group; more common in speech.

Nem o João nem a Maria veio à festa.

Neither João nor Maria came to the party. (singular — grammatically traditional)

Nem o João nem a Maria vieram à festa.

Neither João nor Maria came to the party. (plural — more common in speech)

Both are correct PT-PT. Spoken Portuguese strongly prefers the plural; formal written Portuguese admits either, with the singular sometimes chosen for rhetorical weight. If the action is logically one that cannot be done by two people at once, the singular is preferred: Nem o João nem a Maria ganhou o prémio (only one person can win).

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For nem… nem, when in doubt use the plural in conversation. The singular is legitimate but sounds bookish. In writing, either is fine as long as you stay consistent within the text.

Ou… ou → usually agrees with the nearest element

When the two alternatives differ in number or person, the verb classically agrees with the one closest to it:

Ou o João ou os seus irmãos vão trazer o bolo.

Either João or his brothers will bring the cake. (plural — matches *irmãos*)

Ou tu ou eu tenho de ir lá.

Either you or I has to go there. (1st sg — matches *eu*)

However, when the alternatives are logically mutually exclusive (only one of them will actually perform the action), educated PT-PT often uses the singular:

Ou a Ana ou a Rita vai ser eleita — as outras candidatas já desistiram.

Either Ana or Rita will be elected — the other candidates have already withdrawn.

When they could both contribute (the action is non-exclusive), the plural is preferred:

Ou o meu pai ou a minha mãe podem vir buscar-me.

Either my father or my mother can come pick me up. (either is available — plural natural)

Não só… mas também → plural

Almost always plural when joining subjects, because the construction adds rather than chooses:

Não só o Pedro mas também a irmã trabalham no mesmo hospital.

Not only Pedro but also his sister work at the same hospital.

Correlatives for stylistic effect

Good PT-PT writing uses correlatives to build rhythm and contrast. A sentence with ora… ora has a swinging, undulating feel; quer… quer has a stoic, legal weight; não só… mas também builds emphasis. Observe this pair of sentences:

O mar estava calmo e depois ficou agitado.

The sea was calm and then became choppy. (flat, merely sequential)

O mar ora estava calmo, ora se agitava.

The sea was now calm, now tossing. (literary, vivid alternation)

Reserve the literary correlatives (ora… ora, já… já, seja… seja) for writing where that register is welcome — stories, essays, journalism, speeches. Use the neutral pairs (tanto… como, nem… nem, ou… ou, não só… mas também) everywhere.

Common mistakes

❌ Nem o João nem a Maria não vieram.

Incorrect double negation — *nem* is already negative.

✅ Nem o João nem a Maria vieram.

Neither João nor Maria came.

❌ Não só ele fala português, mas também fala espanhol.

Stylistically awkward — no need to repeat *fala*; the second half should be parallel to the first.

✅ Não só fala português, mas também espanhol. / Ele fala não só português, mas também espanhol.

He speaks not only Portuguese, but also Spanish.

❌ Tanta a Ana como a Rita são minhas amigas.

Incorrect — *tanto* is invariable in this construction.

✅ Tanto a Ana como a Rita são minhas amigas.

Both Ana and Rita are friends of mine.

❌ Ou vens ou fica em casa.

Mixed persons — if the subject is *tu* throughout, both verbs must match.

✅ Ou vens ou ficas em casa.

Either you come or you stay home.

❌ Quer chove quer faz sol, o jogo realiza-se.

After *quer… quer*, the subjunctive is expected — these are hypothetical alternatives.

✅ Quer chova quer faça sol, o jogo realiza-se.

Whether it rains or is sunny, the game is going ahead.

Key takeaways

Correlatives come in pairs; both halves must appear for the construction to work.
Keep the parallel structure: if the first half is a noun phrase, so is the second.
Não só… mas também can also be não só… como também in PT-PT — both are standard.
Tanto in tanto… como is invariable (adverbial); tanto as a quantifier does agree, but that is a different word.
With nem… nem, singular and plural verbs are both correct; speech prefers plural.
With ou… ou, the verb tends to agree with the nearest element or go singular for strict exclusivity.
Quer… quer and seja… seja take the subjunctive because the alternatives are hypothetical.
Ora… ora, já… já, seja… seja are literary — avoid them in conversation.