BBC Learning English Ask about English 18th August 2009 Just / only

A question from Edgar Prieto in Sweden: The words just and only seem to be very similar in the concept they express but when you read an English text you realise that they are used in different ways. My question is when to use just and when to use only? Or are they synonymous?

Trudi Faulkner-Petrova answers: Hi Edgar. First, I just want to say thanks for your question. Or perhaps I could say it like this - I only want to say thanks for your question. Can you hear and understand there is a difference in meaning in those two sentences? The first means I want to thank you, and the just that I slipped in there doesnt really add any meaning. It does give my sentence a polite and informal tone though. The second sentence using only means I want to thank you but I dont want to say anything else after that.

Just and only are adverbs that point to or emphasise one part of the clause. In the example you gave me, Edgar, the same meaning is implied in both sentences:

I came just to speak with you for a couple of minutes. I came only to speak with you for a couple of minutes.

But Id like to point out that your sentences sound very formal and literary. On the one hand, just and only can float around in a sentence and take more than one position. But on the other, the normal position in spoken English is between the subject and verb. They sound much better like this:

I just came to speak with you for a couple of minutes. I only came to speak with you for a couple of minutes.

Ask about English

bbclearningenglish.com

BBC Learning English 2009 Page 1 of 2

In many cases youll come across in spoken English, just is used as a softener. Id better give you an example to explain what I mean by softener:

Can I just ask you a question? - what Im saying here is I want to ask you a question but I dont want to inconvenience you and itll only take a short time, whereas directly saying Can I ask you a question? doesnt have this tone.

So, we often use just to add a polite tone, the word doesnt specifically carry much meaning in itself.

There are other situations when we use just but we cant use only in its place, for example, if I say he was just here, Im trying to tell you he was here a few minutes ago.

So although Ive told you about some differences, there are lots of times when they are synonymous. Basically, anytime you can use only, you can usually use just to mean the same thing. But youve got to remember that the range of uses and meanings for just are quite wide.

Trudi Faulkner-Petrova has a BA (Hons) in English, Bsc. in Psychology and Cert.TESOL. She has been teaching EFL, EAP and Business English in international schools, businesses and universities in Beijing over the last 10 years. Currently, she is a freelance tutor for ESOL, English Literature, SAT/TOEFL preparation and also works for the British Council as an IELTS and BULATS examiner. She is in the final year of studies for an Msc. in Psychology.

Ask about English

bbclearningenglish.com

BBC Learning English 2009 Page 2 of 2