Breakdown of Он знает не только английский, но и китайский.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
знать
to know
английский
English
китайский
Chinese
не только ..., но и
not only ... but also
Questions & Answers about Он знает не только английский, но и китайский.
This lesson teaches double conjunctions like и ... и. How does не только ..., но и ... fit in?
It belongs to the same family of double conjunctions. While и ..., и ... means "both ... and", не только ..., но и ... means "not only ..., but also". Just like the others, it balances two equal parts of a sentence, connecting the two languages he knows.
Why is there a comma before но и?
In Russian grammar, you must always place a comma before the second part of any double conjunction. On top of that, the conjunction но (but) almost always requires a comma before it anyway!
Why are английский and китайский used here without the word for "language"?
These words are actually adjectives, short for английский язык (English language) and китайский язык (Chinese language). Russian speakers frequently drop the word язык with verbs like знать (to know) or учить (to study) because the meaning is obvious from the context.
What case are the languages in here?
They are in the accusative case because they are the direct object of the verb знает (he knows). Because the implied noun язык is a masculine, inanimate object, the accusative adjectives look exactly the same as their nominative (dictionary) forms.
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