just at the beginning of the sentence

[ademoglu]

Hi,

1- Only Nick noticed her standing in the door.
2- Only a few people came to watch the concert.

I'd like to ask if I can use 'just' instead of 'only' at the beginning of the sentence.

1- Just Nick noticed her standing in the door.
2- Just a few people came to watch the concert.

Do they sound weird or wrong?

Thanks.

 

[GoesStation]

The second number one doesn't work. Number two is fine. I can't think of a way to explain why. :-(

 

[ademoglu]

The second number one doesn't work. Number two is fine. I can't think of a way to explain why. :-(

That is what I think too. When I read the second two aloud, it does not sound weird to me. I don't know why but it is maybe because of 'a few'.

Thanks for the answer.

 

[jutfrank]

It's not that just a few people works because of a few, but rather that we don't tend to use just + [name] in a sentence.

It's okay to use that combination when it stands alone, but in a sentence it sounds a bit odd.

 

[GoesStation]

It's not that just a few people works because of a few, but rather that we don't tend to use just + [name] in a sentence.

It's okay to use that combination when it stands alone, but in a sentence it sounds a bit odd.

I don't think that explanation works: Nobody else was there — just Tim.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think that explanation works: Nobody else was there — just Tim.

I didn't explain what I meant very well at all. I was actually considering exactly this example.

When I said "we don't tend to use it in a sentence", I really meant that we don't tend to use it in clause structure, i.e. as a subject or complement. The phrase just Tim in the example above is not grammatically part of the sentence, but instead works as a grammatically isolated noun phrase tagged to the sentence Nobody else was there. I don't know the correct terminology (or have a clear enough idea) to explain it any better, but I hope people understand what I mean.

I think that's right, anyway, but I'll be delighted to hear a better explanation because this is an interesting question.