Não Só… Mas Também in Portuguese: Add a Second Important Point

Keep both included items in the meaning

Ciberdúvidas on mas também explains the additive relationship in não só… mas também and notes that mas também can also appear without the opening pair. The reference was checked on October 21, 2026.

• A mesa tem não só café, mas também chá. — “The table has not only coffee, but also tea.”
• Não quero só ouvir; quero falar também. — “I don’t only want to listen; I want to speak too.”
• Ela não só leu o texto, mas também fez perguntas. — “She not only read the text, but also asked questions.”

Café stays available in the first example. Listening stays part of the second person’s intention. Reading remains part of what she did in the third. Do not translate the initial não as a standalone rejection of the first action or item.

A neutral e, “and,” can express the addition with less emphasis. Não só… mas também highlights that the first piece of information is not the whole story. Choose it when that emphasis helps your listener.

Build two parts that fit the same question

• Quero praticar não só a leitura, mas também a fala. — “I want to practise not only reading, but also speaking.”
• Ela não só explicou a palavra, mas também deu um exemplo. — “She not only explained the word, but also gave an example.”
• O encontro foi não só útil, mas também divertido. — “The meeting was not only useful, but also enjoyable.”

The first pair contains two things to practise. The second contains two actions by the same person. The third contains two descriptions of the same meeting. Matching the jobs of the two parts makes the relationship easier to follow.

Put não só near the element you are expanding. If you say quero praticar não só a leitura, the second part should tell us what else you want to practise. If your actual second idea is a separate plan for tomorrow, a new sentence may be clearer than forcing it into the same pair.

Original dialogue: clarify what also belongs in the plan

Both topics belong in the plan. The reply corrects the assumption that food is the only topic, while keeping it included. Replace the topics with two things that really belong in your next conversation; then ask a follow-up that fits the expanded plan.

After reading, close the example and name both topics from memory. Then say the same plan with e, “and.” Compare the emphasis: the paired form corrects the listener’s assumption about a limit, while the simpler version just lists two topics.

Not A but B corrects an item instead of adding one

• Não quero café, mas chá. — “I don’t want coffee, but tea.”
• Não quero só café; quero chá também. — “I don’t want only coffee; I want tea too.”
• Ela trouxe café e também chá. — “She brought coffee and tea too.”

In the first, coffee is rejected and tea is chosen. In the second, the limit of only coffee is rejected; tea is added. The location and meaning of só are crucial. The third gives a simpler additive sentence without the full not-only pattern.

For limiting an item, compare só, apenas and somente. For adding a negative reply such as me neither, use também and nem. A negative word at the start of a sentence does not make all later items negative.

Practice: what is included?

1. Does não só café, mas também chá exclude coffee?
2. Complete Ela não só leu, ___ também fez perguntas.
3. Which rejects coffee: não quero café, mas chá or não quero só café; quero chá também?
4. Add speaking to quero praticar não só a leitura.
5. Give a simpler way to say she brought coffee and tea too.

Continue with real conversation practice

Use the food and coffee listening guide for a longer conversation context. The dialogues and exercises here are original written practice. Describe an actual preference or situation with one new pattern, then prepare a follow-up question.

Continue with Real Life Portuguese for native Brazilian audio and everyday expressions. Choose a short exchange available in the app. Listen for the speaker’s intention, then use a pattern from this activity to prepare a reply that fits your own situation. Bruno Lopes is a co-founder of the app.