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All the sentences are correct? What is the difference between them?

  1. I often go to the cafe.
  2. Often, I go to the cafe.
  3. I go to the cafe often.
  1. I have the phone only.
  2. I only have the phone.
  3. I have only the phone.
  4. Only I have the phone.
Petr Vatov
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1 Answers1

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Sentences 1–3 have essentially the same meaning. But shifting the position of only cannot be done so freely. Although sentences 4–6 have essentially the same meaning, specifying your single possession, sentence 7 means instead that nobody else besides you possesses it.

Paul Tanenbaum
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  • If I substitute "often" with "sometime" or "always", nothing changes? – Petr Vatov Oct 30 '23 at 17:51
  • Sometimes** and always are like often because all three of them have a single sense—that of specifying a temporal frequency. That’s why their sentences like 1–3 are fairly insensitive to their placement. By contrast, only can modify verbs, their subjects and objects, and objects of prepositions. So its location in a sentence is more tightly constrained by one’s intended meaning. – Paul Tanenbaum Oct 30 '23 at 19:12
  • "Always I go..." wouldn't be used in ordinary conversation, though it might possibly be valid in literature. – Kate Bunting Oct 30 '23 at 19:12
  • @KateBunting "Always I go..." is correct but not natural? – Petr Vatov Oct 31 '23 at 10:22
  • It's grammatical, but not idiomatic, except possibly in poetry. If you used it in conversation it would give you away as a non-native speaker. – Kate Bunting Oct 31 '23 at 11:53