[etni] Re: Just Vs Only
- From: Sergeiy Sandler <sergeiy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 13:47:42 +0200
Hi,
Well, most grammar books are slow to register informal language, and the use of
'just' as a synonym for 'only' is not so recent by now, but is still a bit
informal.
Anyway, 'just' is used as a synonym for some, but not all, uses of 'only',
e.g., you would be saying different things in:
1. Jane was the only daughter of King Henry.
2. Jane was the just daughter of King Henry (as opposed to the unjust
and corrupt Princess Ann).
In general, 'just' is synonymous with 'only' as an adverb, not as an adjective.
In some collocations, 'just' replaces 'only', rather than being /just
/synonymous. Compare:
3. Just a minute.
4. Only a minute.
5. ... rather than being just synonymous.
6. ... rather than being only synonymous.
In 5 'just' is in fact closer in meaning to 'merely' than to 'only'. There are
also other cases in which, in the process of grammaticalization, there has
developed some differentiation in meaning between the two words, e.g.:
7. It just occurred to me...
8. It only occurred to me...
9. It only now occurred to me...
Compare also "...not just..." with "Not only...", etc. etc. etc.
Where the two can be used interchangeably, the difference is not one of
grammar, but possibly one of register. 'Just' is usually used in an informal
and colloquial register, while 'only' can more freely be used in more formal
settings. This difference has by now become much less marked than it used to be
though, if anything is left of it at all. Compare:
10. I would only like to add that...
11. I would just like to add that...
Last, but not least, 'just' is /only/just/ one syllable long, while 'only' is
two syllables long. This is a difference any poet or lyrics writer should take
into account.
All the best,
Sergeiy.
------------------------------
From: "Ask" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [etni] Fw: Just Vs Only
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 21:21:07 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: Rana N. - ladyr@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Just Vs Only
Hello
I was asked by a student about the difference between just and only and the
difference in using both in a sentence. I couldn't find the answer in any of
my grammar books nor on the net. can anyone help me?
Rana
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