“Only” is the word that I see misused the most in English. As a matter of fact, I rarely see it used correctly.
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict.
“Only” can be used as an adjective, an adverb, or a conjunction, and affects the word or phrase that immediately follows it. As an adjective, it modifies a noun or pronoun. As an adverb it modifies a verb. As a conjunction it joins two parts of a sentence.
If you ate scrambled eggs for breakfast and ate nothing else – no bacon, no waffles - the correct way to say this is:
“I ate only scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
What you’re likely to read or hear more often is the idiomatic usage in which “only” precedes the verb:
“I only ate scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
What that actually says: You didn’t cook them. You didn’t digest them. You only ate them. You might also have cooked and eaten bacon and waffles.
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict. Here’s another example:
“I rode my bicycle to the store to buy a pound of ground beef for my mother. She gave me extra change to buy a bottle of root beer to drink on my way home. When I got to the store, they were out of ground beef, so I only bought the root beer.”
What is literally being said is that I “only bought” the root beer. I paid for it but I didn’t drink it. I didn’t bring it home.
Correct: “When I got to the store, they were out of ground beef, so I bought only the root beer.”
Although the meaning is generally interpreted correctly, that is not always the case. It is best to learn and use the correct word placement. It bears repeating:
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict.
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict.
“Only” can be used as an adjective, an adverb, or a conjunction, and affects the word or phrase that immediately follows it. As an adjective, it modifies a noun or pronoun. As an adverb it modifies a verb. As a conjunction it joins two parts of a sentence.
If you ate scrambled eggs for breakfast and ate nothing else – no bacon, no waffles - the correct way to say this is:
“I ate only scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
What you’re likely to read or hear more often is the idiomatic usage in which “only” precedes the verb:
“I only ate scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
What that actually says: You didn’t cook them. You didn’t digest them. You only ate them. You might also have cooked and eaten bacon and waffles.
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict. Here’s another example:
“I rode my bicycle to the store to buy a pound of ground beef for my mother. She gave me extra change to buy a bottle of root beer to drink on my way home. When I got to the store, they were out of ground beef, so I only bought the root beer.”
What is literally being said is that I “only bought” the root beer. I paid for it but I didn’t drink it. I didn’t bring it home.
Correct: “When I got to the store, they were out of ground beef, so I bought only the root beer.”
Although the meaning is generally interpreted correctly, that is not always the case. It is best to learn and use the correct word placement. It bears repeating:
Place “only” immediately preceding the word or phrase that you intend to restrict.
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