Finding the error: where the subject goes with 不但…而且
With one subject, the subject comes before 不但. With two different subjects, each one follows its own conjunction. The second half must also go further than the first. Both rules are tested constantly in find-the-error questions.
Structure
主语 + 不但 + 甲，而且 + 乙（主语相同） ｜ 不但 + 主语一 + 甲，而且 + 主语二 + 也 + 乙（主语不同）
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
The meaning of … is learned early; what HSK 6 tests is its word order. The rule depends on how many subjects the sentence has.
When both clauses are about the same subject, that subject is said once, before : ， “She not only speaks Chinese, she speaks it fluently.” Moving the subject behind — ，… — changes what is being added. It now sounds as if she is being set against other people, and the listener waits for a second person who never comes. In a find-the-error question this is the commonest fault of all.
When the two clauses have different subjects, each subject follows its own conjunction, and the second clause normally adds or : ，. Here it is the people who are being added, so the people must sit inside the and clauses. Writing ，… puts the subject outside and leaves the second subject without a frame.
A second, quieter rule is direction. introduces something further along the same scale — bigger, more surprising, harder. ， climbs; ， falls back, and is marked as an error even though every word is correct.
When checking a sentence, ask two questions in order: is there one subject or two, and does the second half go further than the first?
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
她不但会说汉语，而且说得非常流利。她不但會說漢語，而且說得非常流利。
Tā (first tone, high and level) búdàn (second tone, rising) huì (fourth tone, falling) shuō (first tone, high and level) Hànyǔ, (fourth tone, falling) érqiě (second tone, rising) shuō (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) fēicháng (first tone, high and level) liúlì. (second tone, rising)···
She not only speaks Chinese — she speaks it very fluently.
不但学生喜欢这位老师，而且他们的父母也很信任她。不但學生喜歡這位老師，而且他們的父母也很信任她。
Búdàn (second tone, rising) xuésheng (second tone, rising) xǐhuan (third tone, dipping) zhè (fourth tone, falling) wèi (fourth tone, falling) lǎoshī, (third tone, dipping) érqiě (second tone, rising) tāmen (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) fùmǔ (fourth tone, falling) yě (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) xìnrèn (fourth tone, falling) tā. (first tone, high and level)···
Not only do the students like this teacher; their parents trust her too.
这个办法不但节省时间，而且能减少错误。這個辦法不但節省時間，而且能減少錯誤。
Zhège (fourth tone, falling) bànfǎ (fourth tone, falling) búdàn (second tone, rising) jiéshěng (second tone, rising) shíjiān, (second tone, rising) érqiě (second tone, rising) néng (second tone, rising) jiǎnshǎo (third tone, dipping) cuòwù. (fourth tone, falling)···
This method not only saves time but also reduces mistakes.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 不但他会说汉语，而且会写汉字。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他不但会说汉语，而且会写汉字。
Why: Both halves are about 他, so 他 is said once, before 不但. Inside the 不但 clause it sounds as if a second person is about to be added.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 学生不但喜欢这位老师，而且他们的父母也很信任她。
Correct
Correct sentence: 不但学生喜欢这位老师，而且他们的父母也很信任她。
Why: The subjects differ — students, then parents — so each follows its own conjunction: 不但学生…，而且父母也….
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 她不但是世界冠军，而且是亚洲冠军。
Correct
Correct sentence: 她不但是亚洲冠军，而且是世界冠军。
Why: 而且 must go further than 不但. A world title already includes Asia, so the original order goes backwards.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
The HSK 3 point teaches what 不但…而且 means: one fact, then a further one. This point is about where the words go once the sentence gets longer. Nothing about the meaning changes; what changes is that an HSK 6 sentence often has two subjects, and the learner has to decide whether the subject sits outside the frame (one subject) or inside each half (two subjects).
Not only… but also: 不但…而且… →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Which sentence has no error?