if only/only if

[joham]

The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them.

The given answer is 'only if'. But I should think 'if only' is the answer, and we can say 'if only we open our eyes to see them' or 'if we only open our eyes to see them'. Am I right?

(I got the notion that here 'if only' should be used from a sentence in L. G. Alexander's LONGMAN ENGLISH GRAMMAR:
If only he gets this job it will make a great deal of difference. )

Thank you in advance.

 

[bhaisahab]

The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them.

The given answer is 'only if'. But I should think 'if only' is the answer, and we can say 'if only we open our eyes to see them' or 'if we only open our eyes to see them'. Am I right?

Thank you in advance.

I'd say "if only" is correct. You could also say "if we only".

 

[BobK]

:up: To say 'The world is full of wonders only if we open our eyes to see them' is to say something different - that things become wonders only as a result of our looking at them - a philosophically dubious assertion.

b

 

[joham]

Thank you very much for your quick answer, bhai and Bobk and Barb. Are you saying that both 'if only' and 'only if' are correct?

Sorry, Bob. I had just sent this post when I saw your reply. I got to know 'only if' is not correct in the common sense here.
Thank you again.

 

[emsr2d2]

They can both be fitted into the sentence, but "if only" is far more likely. Using "only if" would result in what Bob described as a "philosophically dubious assertion" - such a thing would have no real place in an English exercise.

 

[joham]

A dictionary allows quick access to the meaning of a word only if one knows how to spell the word.

The above sentence is taken from a TOEFL test. Can we change the 'only if' into 'if only' without changing the meaning of the sentence?

Thank you again.

 

[emsr2d2]

A dictionary allows quick access to the meaning of a word only if one knows how to spell the word.

The above sentence is taken from a TOEFL test. Can we change the 'only if' into 'if only' without changing the meaning of the sentence?

Thank you again.

Not really, no.

A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word. If only I knew how to spell the word [I want to look up].
Meaning: I know that a dictionary gives the meaning of words. Unfortunately, I don't know how to spell the word. Oh, I wish I knew how to spell it. (Note that this would really have to be split into two sentences.)

A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if you know how to spell the word.
Meaning: There is only one requirement in order to look up a word in a dictionary and that is that you know how to spell it.

 

[joham]

Not really, no.

A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word. If only I knew how to spell the word [I want to look up].
Meaning: I know that a dictionary gives the meaning of words. Unfortunately, I don't know how to spell the word. Oh, I wish I knew how to spell it. (Note that this would really have to be split into two sentences.)

A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if you know how to spell the word.
Meaning: There is only one requirement in order to look up a word in a dictionary and that is that you know how to spell it.

Thanks a lot for your help, emsr2d2. From your reply, can I see in this way that here "the word" is determining the choice? Could I ask further:
How about: A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if/if only you know how to spell a word.


Thank you again.

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks a lot for your help, emsr2d2. From your reply, can I see in this way that here "the word" is determining the choice? Could I ask further:
How about: A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if/if only you know how to spell a word.


Thank you again.

"A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if you know how to spell it."

 

[joham]

"A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if you know how to spell it."

The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them.

In my original post, the teachers here insisted that 'if only' is the answer to 'The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them'.

So I now feel confused about the meaning and usage of these two phrases because it seems to me that the two sentences are very similar. Could you take trouble to give some more explanation? Thank you very very much in advance.

 

[5jj]

Re-read the posts from bhaisahab, ems and Bob. Is there any particular point they have made that is not clear? If so, ask your question about that specific point.

 

[emsr2d2]

The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them.

In my original post, the teachers here insisted that 'if only' is the answer to 'The world is full of wonders, ________ (if only/only if) we open our eyes to see them'.

So I now feel confused about the meaning and usage of these two phrases because it seems to me that the two sentences are very similar. Could you take trouble to give some more explanation? Thank you very very much in advance.

The problem with putting "only if" into your original sentence is that it would suggest that the world only suddenly becomes full of wonders if you open your eyes and look at them. That's clearly not true. The world is full of wonders whether we look at them or not. Wonders are not reliant on our looking at them. They simply exist.

Using "if only" is more of a wish. The writer is saying that each individual person would be able to see those wonders if they simply stopped for a moment to look around them and notice those wonders. The wonders are there anyway but it would be so amazing if more people actually bothered to look at them.

 

[joham]

I've got a bit clearer now. Thank you so much, my respected teachers, for all your great explanations. Please could you now check if I'm wrong in paraphrasing these sentences:

1. My original sentence: The world is full of wonders. You certainly open your eyes every day, but you seem not to be willing to see the wonders. I wish you were willing to see them. (By saying this I'm advising you not to lose hope.)

2. A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word only if you know how to spell the word.
A dictionary allows access to the meaning of a word. Only If you know(=Only when you know) how to spell a word, can you access the dictionary for the meaning. If you don't know how to spell a word, then you certainly can't do it.

3. Another pair of sentences:
a He's the right person for you, if only you employ him.
This means 'I think he's suitable for you, but I know you don't want to employ him. I wish you could. I'm advising you to employ him and then you'll find him suitable for you'.
b He's the right person for you, only if you employ him. This means 'I think he's suitable for you. But I don't know if you want to employ him or not. If you do, you'll find him suitable for you'.

Thank you again.