Usage and Grammar

Q. I am a copy editor for an academic press, and I have noticed that many authors elide the “also” in the correlative conjunction “not only / but also” (regardless of whether the following clause is dependent or independent). Example: “These publications formed a body of not only opinion but aspiration.” This seems incorrect to me, but I have been advised not to correct it in page proofs. What is CMOS’s position on this?

A. CMOS omits also in a variety of “not only” constructions, although it uses “but also” more often than not. (You can search the Manual online for the phrase “not only.”) Consider the short version to be accepted; elisions like this are common in English.