Only

[Roktim]

When does the word "only" act as an adverb or adjective? I'm confused.

 

[Tarheel]

It depends on what you want to say. What do you want to say?

 

[Rover_KE]

You'll find examples of each usage in OneLook.com.

 

[Tarheel]

only

It's only five o'clock. (It's too early.)
She's only five years old. (She's too young (for whatever).)
It's only five dollars. (It's cheap.)

 

[probus]

He's an only child. (He has no brothers or sisters.)

 

[PaulMatthews]

When does the word "only" act as an adverb or adjective? I'm confused.

The adverb “only” usually occurs either as a low degree adverb, as in [1]

[1] It’s only five o’clock.

Or as a focusing adverb, as in [2]:

[2] Only Ed saw the accident.

The meaning in [2] is “Ed saw the accident”; “Nobody except Ed saw the accident”.

Focusing adverbs modify a very wide range of expressions, for example:

[3] I love only you. (“I love you”, “I don’t love anybody else”).

[4] The problem will only get worse. (“The problem will get worse”; “The problem will not get better”).


The adjective “only” typically functions as a quantifier, as in

[5] Our only escape is through the tunnel.

[6] My only concern is for your welfare.

[7] His only brother lives in the US.


An important syntactic distinction between the focusing adverb and the adjective is that the former modifies noun phrases, but not nouns or nominals. So you could have [8] but not [9]

[8] I like most meat, but only this kind of fish.

[9] *I like most meat but this only kind of fish.

Note that “fish” is here a noun phrase consisting of just a noun.