Learn Spanish (Spain): No solo me gusta explorar la ciudad, sino también la gastronomía. - I not only like to explore the city, but also the gastronomy.

No solo me gusta explorar la ciudad, sino también la gastronomía.

I not only like to explore the city, but also the gastronomy.

Breakdown of No solo me gusta explorar la ciudad, sino también la gastronomía.

to me / myself (reflexive) / me (direct object)

Questions & Answers about No solo me gusta explorar la ciudad, sino también la gastronomía.

Why do we use sino también here instead of sino que también?

We use sino también because it connects directly to a noun (la gastronomía) that shares the same verb (explorar) as the first part of the sentence. You only need to add que (making it sino que también) if you are introducing a brand new conjugated verb right after it.

Could I use pero también instead of sino también?

In the structure no solo..., Spanish requires sino... to introduce the second part. While pero translates to but, sino is specifically used after a negative statement to offer a contrast or an addition. This makes no solo... sino también... the fixed set phrase for not only... but also.

Why is it me gusta and not me gustan since we are talking about two things (the city and the gastronomy)?

The verb gustar is singular here because the grammatical subject is the action of exploring, represented by the infinitive explorar. Even though you are exploring two different things, the action itself is a single idea. In Spanish, when gustar is followed by an infinitive, it stays singular.

Why do we need the article la before gastronomía?

In Spanish, you must use definite articles (el, la, los, las) when talking about abstract concepts, fields of study, or general categories like gastronomy. English often drops the article in these cases, but Spanish requires it.