Learn how to express "not only... but..." in Spanish
No solo... sino
When we express "not only...but" in Spanish we always need "sino" (not pero). The second clause is always "adding" an idea; not contrasting or limiting, it's simply adding. That's why it's generally translated as "not only... but also" and in Spanish we often use "también" as well.
For example:
Yo no solo estudio en la universidad, sino que también tengo un trabajo los fines de semana.Not only do I study at the university but I also have a weekend job.
Me encantó la película, no solo por sus actores, sino por la historia.I loved the film, not only for its actors but [also] for the story.
Notice that sino can be followed by different structures, for example nouns, infinitives, or que with a conjugated verb.
Important:
We do not use pero in this case, this would be incorrect:
Trabajé algunos días, no solo el lunes y el martes, pero el miércoles y el viernes también.
See also Difference between pero, sino and sino que in Spanish (but)
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