A Good Example of a Bad “Only”

I’ve mentioned in the past that the correct place for the word “only” is right before the word it modifies, not at the beginning of the whole clause.

So perhaps this curse is worse for the employer than for the employee:

What? Can’t do anything at work but poop? That’s what she’s saying.

Watch what you’re saying when you use “only.”

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

I guess this is one way to approach approximation. That rule in the first panel is correct, by the way.

Of course I have to throw in a grammar lesson: That “only” is in the wrong place! It should go before “so.” “…jobs for only so many…”

Remember, “only” goes directly before the word it modifies.

I see these so seldom, I feel a need to give them a plug.

The rule is that “only” goes directly before the word it modifies, not at the beginning of the whole clause. Look in the lower left corner.

Now that’s not so hard, is it?

The humor is bad, but I approve of Mr. Thaves calling them malaprops instead of “malapropisms.”

…but he put “only” in the correct place, (next-to-last panel). But he should have said “The deck had” instead of “there were.”

Many people put “only” at the beginning of a string of words even when the word they want to emphasize is someplace inside. Don’t do that. Put “only” directly in front of the word!

Here’s an example of someone getting it right.

Don’t put the “only” in front of “survive”!

This post first appeared on writing-rag.com.