grammaticality - "Not only..., but also" without "but"


As far as I understand, this structure is grammatically correct:



Not only would it provide ..., but it also would...



Can we omit "but" without introducing a mistake?



Not only would it provide ..., it also would...



I've found the following explanation here but I think this example has slightly different meaning:



Usually, a "not only" feels lost without a "but also" to pal around with. However, it is idiomatically possible and acceptable to omit the "but also." Burchfield gives this example: "Rowers not only face backward, they race backward." Authority: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press. (under "not")





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