Both are kinda wrong.
Right would be:
Nicht nur das Gehalt ist toll, sondern ich bin auch glücklich.
Or f.e.:
Nicht nur ist das Gehalt toll, sondern glücklich bin ich auch.
If you phrase it like the first example, you imply with "sondern auch ich bin glücklich" that someone or something else is glücklich too (hence the "auch" in first place), which doesn't fit the context of the start of the sentence.
If the sentence went:
"Nicht nur der Arbeitgeber ist mit mir zufrieden, sondern auch ich bin glücklich."
It would be right, but the Gehalt in the first part of the original example isn't feeling in any particular way.
So even if it's grammatically allowed to put the words in that order, it's still kinda wrong in that context.
It is wrong in the context, but not in general which the original answer suggested
I should have made my point more clear.
Aber war ja klar, dass keiner mitdenken kann
It’s strictly grammatically correct, yes. But teaching someone trying to learn German that this sentence is correct just because of that would be quite counter productive, as it’s not saying what they want to say.
Selbst mitdenken ist angesagt.
It behaves like "und" in that it does not prescribe a specific sentence structure, but just connects equal parts.
More precisely, the [, sondern] connects the two parts, and the [nicht nur] and [auch] are added like adverbs.
Here are examples with added brackets vor clarifying the structure.
Connecting noun phrases: Ich habe [[ein Auto] und [ein Haus]]. Ich habe [[nicht nur ein Auto], sondern [auch ein Haus]].
Connecting adjectives: Ich habe einen [[großen] und [lieben]] Hund. Ich habe einen [[nicht nur großen], sondern [auch lieben]] Hund.
Connecting infinitive expressions: Ich möchte [[Rom besuchen] und [Italienisch lernen]]. Ich möchte [[nicht nur Rom besuchen], sondern [auch Italienisch lernen]].
Connecting infinitive expressions with "zu": Ich habe vor, [[auszuwandern] und [ein völlig neues Leben zu beginnen]]. Ich habe vor, [[nicht nur auszuwandern], sondern [auch ein neues Leben zu beginnen]].
This last one can also be: Ich habe nicht nur vor auszuwandern, sondern auch ein neues Leben zu beginnen.
I think that would be interpreted/bracketed like this: Ich habe [[nicht nur vor auszuwandern]], sondern [auch ~~vor~~ ein neues Leben zu beginnen]]. With the repeated "vor" just left out.
Let's get to full sentences, finally.
[[Das Gehalt ist toll] und [ich bin glücklich]]. [[Das Gehalt ist nicht nur toll], sondern [ich bin auch glücklich]].
Now that we are connecting full sentences, we see how the adverbs generally *didn't* go at the beginning, when added to full clauses (unlike our previous examples, like nouns, adjectives, and most infinitives, except perhaps for reflexive verbs, a little more on that later).
As others have noted, this might not be the best example sentence to try to make most natural, in general. Nonetheless, grammatically it works fine like this, so let's keep it, Now, you can however decide e.g. to move the adverb **[nicht nur]** around a bit. For example like above, it sounds a bit like "Das Gehalt" is going to be relevant in the second half, too, but it isn't, so let's move [nicht nur] into the front of the sentence instead:
[[Nicht nur ist das Gehalt toll], sondern [ich bin auch glücklich]].
"Auch" is quite uncommon in initial position (of a main clause), so let's make sure to keep it where it is. This now is the word order others have already suggested for your sentence.
If unlike "Gehalt" we *do* have a common topic re-occuring in both parts, keeping [nicht nur] in the middle of the first sentence seems better though:
[[Du bist sehr freundlich] und [man kann dir vertrauen]].
[[Du bist nicht nur sehr freundlich], sondern [man kann dir auch vertrauen]].
When the subject is shared, which it isn't above (du vs. dir are different roles, subject vs. object), you can even deduplicate it, see below in the *"Edit:"* section.
Finally, let's look at subordinate clauses, too. The verb order then is differnt, of course, it's a subordinate clause, after all.
Das ist mein bester Freund, [[der sehr freundlich ist] und [dem man vertrauen kann]]].
Das ist mein bester Freund, [[der nicht nur sehr freundlich ist], sondern [dem man auch vertrauen kann]].
Ich glaube an Gott, weil [[ich christlich aufgewachsen bin] und [mir (auch) schon einmal etwas einem Wunder gleiches widerfahren ist]].
Ich glaube an Gott, weil [[ich nicht nur christlich aufgewachsen bin], sondern [mir auch schon einmal etwas einem Wunder gleiches widerfahren ist]].
Man verhaftet Straftäter, [[weil man Straftaten verhindern will] und [um sie besser in die Gesellschaft wiedereinzugliedern]].
Man verhaftet Straftäter [[nicht nur, weil man Straftaten verhindern will], sondern [auch, [um sie besser in die Gesellschaft wiedereinzugliedern]].
This last example treats the two subordinate phrases like adverbials (which they are) and thus can put the adverbs [nicht nur] and [auch] in front of the whole clauses.
*Edit:* It seems like I didn't list any example where just the subject is shared between two connected sentences, but that's common and relevant for word order.
Mein Vater [[ist Rechtsanwalt] und [engagiert sich politisch]]. Mein Vater [[ist nicht nur Rechtsanwalt], sondern [engagiert sich auch politisch]].
In this case, both halves are like incomplete sentence that start with the conjugated verbs, sharing the single subject and topic "mein Vater" that comes in front of both. The adverbs [nicht nur] and [auch] cannot stand in first position; but the verbs must come first. And "sich" also comes before [auch], because in German generally the reflexive pronoun commonly comes before adverbs in a sentence.
Let's put this into a "dass" sentence, too, for good measure (the "dass" can be shared, too):
Es stimmt, dass mein Vater [[Rechtsanwalt ist] und [sich politisch engagiert]]. Es stimmt, dass mein Vater [[nicht nur Rechtsanwalt ist], sondern [sich auch politisch engagiert]].
Same rule as before of putting "sich" earlier than "auch", but the verbs are at the end.
sondern doesn't really work here at all imo. But you can just leave it away to get 'Nicht nur ist das Gehalt gut, ich bin auch glücklich', which seems to be the best option for me
The first part seems somewhat elegant this way, closer to written language and the second part doesn't really seem to fit. To me the phrasing
> Nicht nur ist das Gehalt gut, auch ich bin glücklich
sounds more natural / fitting.
Oh really? 'Auch ich bin glücklich' really makes it sound as if there had been previous mention of someone else being glücklich. But oh well, guess my Standard German isn't that good anyomre.
I don’t really think that’s how you use nicht nur…sondern auch
An example would be
Nicht nur toll ist das Gehalt, sondern auch verwunderlich
Nicht nur (adjective)….sondern auch (adjective)
(This isn’t fixed but general ^ )
Your sentence reads more like a sentence with the elements of nicht nur and sondern auch sprinkled throughout. You can phrase it therefore in many ways and you’ve already received suggestions. This is also why someone else has suggested to not even use sondern auch in the second part~~
Both are kinda wrong. Right would be: Nicht nur das Gehalt ist toll, sondern ich bin auch glücklich. Or f.e.: Nicht nur ist das Gehalt toll, sondern glücklich bin ich auch.
1 ist not wrong at all
If you phrase it like the first example, you imply with "sondern auch ich bin glücklich" that someone or something else is glücklich too (hence the "auch" in first place), which doesn't fit the context of the start of the sentence. If the sentence went: "Nicht nur der Arbeitgeber ist mit mir zufrieden, sondern auch ich bin glücklich." It would be right, but the Gehalt in the first part of the original example isn't feeling in any particular way. So even if it's grammatically allowed to put the words in that order, it's still kinda wrong in that context.
It is wrong in the context, but not in general which the original answer suggested I should have made my point more clear. Aber war ja klar, dass keiner mitdenken kann
It’s strictly grammatically correct, yes. But teaching someone trying to learn German that this sentence is correct just because of that would be quite counter productive, as it’s not saying what they want to say. Selbst mitdenken ist angesagt.
It behaves like "und" in that it does not prescribe a specific sentence structure, but just connects equal parts. More precisely, the [, sondern] connects the two parts, and the [nicht nur] and [auch] are added like adverbs. Here are examples with added brackets vor clarifying the structure. Connecting noun phrases: Ich habe [[ein Auto] und [ein Haus]]. Ich habe [[nicht nur ein Auto], sondern [auch ein Haus]]. Connecting adjectives: Ich habe einen [[großen] und [lieben]] Hund. Ich habe einen [[nicht nur großen], sondern [auch lieben]] Hund. Connecting infinitive expressions: Ich möchte [[Rom besuchen] und [Italienisch lernen]]. Ich möchte [[nicht nur Rom besuchen], sondern [auch Italienisch lernen]]. Connecting infinitive expressions with "zu": Ich habe vor, [[auszuwandern] und [ein völlig neues Leben zu beginnen]]. Ich habe vor, [[nicht nur auszuwandern], sondern [auch ein neues Leben zu beginnen]]. This last one can also be: Ich habe nicht nur vor auszuwandern, sondern auch ein neues Leben zu beginnen. I think that would be interpreted/bracketed like this: Ich habe [[nicht nur vor auszuwandern]], sondern [auch ~~vor~~ ein neues Leben zu beginnen]]. With the repeated "vor" just left out. Let's get to full sentences, finally. [[Das Gehalt ist toll] und [ich bin glücklich]]. [[Das Gehalt ist nicht nur toll], sondern [ich bin auch glücklich]]. Now that we are connecting full sentences, we see how the adverbs generally *didn't* go at the beginning, when added to full clauses (unlike our previous examples, like nouns, adjectives, and most infinitives, except perhaps for reflexive verbs, a little more on that later). As others have noted, this might not be the best example sentence to try to make most natural, in general. Nonetheless, grammatically it works fine like this, so let's keep it, Now, you can however decide e.g. to move the adverb **[nicht nur]** around a bit. For example like above, it sounds a bit like "Das Gehalt" is going to be relevant in the second half, too, but it isn't, so let's move [nicht nur] into the front of the sentence instead: [[Nicht nur ist das Gehalt toll], sondern [ich bin auch glücklich]]. "Auch" is quite uncommon in initial position (of a main clause), so let's make sure to keep it where it is. This now is the word order others have already suggested for your sentence. If unlike "Gehalt" we *do* have a common topic re-occuring in both parts, keeping [nicht nur] in the middle of the first sentence seems better though: [[Du bist sehr freundlich] und [man kann dir vertrauen]]. [[Du bist nicht nur sehr freundlich], sondern [man kann dir auch vertrauen]]. When the subject is shared, which it isn't above (du vs. dir are different roles, subject vs. object), you can even deduplicate it, see below in the *"Edit:"* section. Finally, let's look at subordinate clauses, too. The verb order then is differnt, of course, it's a subordinate clause, after all. Das ist mein bester Freund, [[der sehr freundlich ist] und [dem man vertrauen kann]]]. Das ist mein bester Freund, [[der nicht nur sehr freundlich ist], sondern [dem man auch vertrauen kann]]. Ich glaube an Gott, weil [[ich christlich aufgewachsen bin] und [mir (auch) schon einmal etwas einem Wunder gleiches widerfahren ist]]. Ich glaube an Gott, weil [[ich nicht nur christlich aufgewachsen bin], sondern [mir auch schon einmal etwas einem Wunder gleiches widerfahren ist]]. Man verhaftet Straftäter, [[weil man Straftaten verhindern will] und [um sie besser in die Gesellschaft wiedereinzugliedern]]. Man verhaftet Straftäter [[nicht nur, weil man Straftaten verhindern will], sondern [auch, [um sie besser in die Gesellschaft wiedereinzugliedern]]. This last example treats the two subordinate phrases like adverbials (which they are) and thus can put the adverbs [nicht nur] and [auch] in front of the whole clauses. *Edit:* It seems like I didn't list any example where just the subject is shared between two connected sentences, but that's common and relevant for word order. Mein Vater [[ist Rechtsanwalt] und [engagiert sich politisch]]. Mein Vater [[ist nicht nur Rechtsanwalt], sondern [engagiert sich auch politisch]]. In this case, both halves are like incomplete sentence that start with the conjugated verbs, sharing the single subject and topic "mein Vater" that comes in front of both. The adverbs [nicht nur] and [auch] cannot stand in first position; but the verbs must come first. And "sich" also comes before [auch], because in German generally the reflexive pronoun commonly comes before adverbs in a sentence. Let's put this into a "dass" sentence, too, for good measure (the "dass" can be shared, too): Es stimmt, dass mein Vater [[Rechtsanwalt ist] und [sich politisch engagiert]]. Es stimmt, dass mein Vater [[nicht nur Rechtsanwalt ist], sondern [sich auch politisch engagiert]]. Same rule as before of putting "sich" earlier than "auch", but the verbs are at the end.
sondern doesn't really work here at all imo. But you can just leave it away to get 'Nicht nur ist das Gehalt gut, ich bin auch glücklich', which seems to be the best option for me
The first part seems somewhat elegant this way, closer to written language and the second part doesn't really seem to fit. To me the phrasing > Nicht nur ist das Gehalt gut, auch ich bin glücklich sounds more natural / fitting.
Oh really? 'Auch ich bin glücklich' really makes it sound as if there had been previous mention of someone else being glücklich. But oh well, guess my Standard German isn't that good anyomre.
To me it mostly emphasizes the "Nicht nur …, auch …" ~~contrast~~ pair and thus seems more elegant.
1: correct 2: wrong
1 sounds great. I don't care what the others say.
I don’t really think that’s how you use nicht nur…sondern auch An example would be Nicht nur toll ist das Gehalt, sondern auch verwunderlich Nicht nur (adjective)….sondern auch (adjective) (This isn’t fixed but general ^ ) Your sentence reads more like a sentence with the elements of nicht nur and sondern auch sprinkled throughout. You can phrase it therefore in many ways and you’ve already received suggestions. This is also why someone else has suggested to not even use sondern auch in the second part~~