A Correct “Only”

Usually I post about mistakes, but the mistake of putting “only” in the wrong place is so common, I’m posting an example of it being used correctly! In the only speech in the comic:

People often say “…only covers your parking.” Wrong!

Always put “only” directly in front of the word it refers to, not at the beginning of the whole clause!

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People frequently put “only” at the beginning of the clause that contains the target word. For example Mom might say “you can only have one piece of pie before supper.” But “only” modifies the word directly after it. Is having the piece the only thing? Can’t he see it, or smell it? What she means is that you can have only one piece of pie. But sometimes, the first word in the clause is the target. Not often, but sometimes. And sometimes “only” could go in more than one place! See below:

Being allowed looks like a good thing for “only,” doesn’t it? But the number of items makes a good target for “only,” too. (…allowed to carry only one item…”)

So be careful where you put “only” when you write.

I usually pontificate about “only” being too far from what it refers to (Look up “only” in the search box on the upper right). But here’s an example with “just.” Always put these words right next to what they refer to.

In case you don’t get the joke, she’s not talking about getting her hair done, but about how recently the hair was done, and she wants the hairdo to last longer than a week.

See? Word order makes a difference.

A misplaced “only”! Always put “only” immediately before the word it modifies, not at the beginning of the whole clause.

It’s “We need only one.” harrumpf.

You can find more examples of this pleonasm by doing a search in the upper right corner for “only.”

Putting “only” too early in the sentence is one of my hobbyhorses. Put the word right in front of what it refers to. Like this guy. You can skip to the last panel.

Yay! He didn’t put “only” in front of “means.”