Lemoti … as a painter, but also as a sculptor?

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "Lemoti ....... as a painter, but also as a sculptor." The word "but also" tells us we need the correlative pair "not only ... but also ...".

Explain the concept

"Not only ... but also ..." joins two similar ideas. The key rule is parallelism: the words that follow "not only" and "but also" must be the same grammatical type.

• Not only as a painter, but also as a sculptor (both are phrases beginning with "as").

So "not only" must come right before "as a painter", and the verb phrase "is gifted" must come before "not only".

Step-by-step solution

Test each option:

• A. "is gifted only not as a painter..." is wrong word order. "Only not" is not a correct expression.
• B. "is only not gifted as a painter..." is wrong. It breaks the pair and changes the meaning.
• C. "is gifted not only as a painter, but also as a sculptor." is correct. The verb "is gifted" comes first, then "not only as a painter", and "but also as a sculptor" matches it.
• D. "is only gifted as a painter, but also as a sculptor." is wrong. "Only ... but also" is not a proper pair.

Correct answer: C

Full sentence: Lemoti is gifted not only as a painter, but also as a sculptor.

Exam tip

When you see "but also" in the sentence, look for "not only" in the options. Then check that "not only" sits directly before the phrase that matches the one after "but also". Remember: "not only ... but also" always travel together.