When the word “only” is placed incorrectly in a sentence, it becomes a “misplaced modifier”. This means the modifier (“only”) is not placed beside the noun or other word it is meant to modify. This can create confusion for the listener or reader, because the sentence becomes awkward, even misleading. [2] X Research source
It’s important, however, to use the correct placement of “only” when writing a formal letter, a paper, or something for public consumption to ensure you do not confuse your reader.
In this sentence the speaker probably means to say that she had strawberries for dinner and nothing else. The speaker is trying to modify “strawberries” when, in fact, “only” is placed before (and thus modifies) the verb “ate”. This implies that the subject in the sentence, “she”, does nothing with the strawberries but eat them for dinner. She doesn’t pick them. She doesn’t prepare them. She just eats them. The correct placement of “only” in this sentence, based on the probable intended meaning, is: “She ate only strawberries for dinner”. The modifier “only” is next to the noun it’s meant to modify and is now grammatically correct. At first, it can feel awkward to say this sentence out loud, because sentences like this are so often misspoken or miswritten. However, once you realize that the wrong sentence construction doesn’t mean what you want it to mean, the correctly constructed sentence will start to feel more comfortable.
For example, consider these six different placements of “only” in the same sentence: “Only I like dancing at a party”. “I only like dancing at a party”. “I like only dancing at a party”. “I like dancing only at a party”. “I like dancing at only a party”. “I like dancing at a party only”.
You could view this sentence another way: “Only John danced at the party”. In this construction no one but John danced at the party. If this is the intended meaning, that John was the only dancer at the party, you would place “only” at the beginning of the sentence so that it modifies “John”.
The third “practice” sentence above – “I like only dancing at a party” – means that the person likes dancing and no other activities (talking, eating, etc) at a party. In the fourth sentence above, “only” could be seen as modifying “dancing” or “at a party”. Because the distinction could be important, in speech you would have the option of orally stressing the word or words being modified. In the fifth sentence above, “only” modifies “a party”, meaning no other location or event. This is a clearer usage than the fourth sentence. The final sentence above places “only” after “party”. It more clearly expresses the same meaning as the previous sentence. You could look at these placements in a different situation or setting. For example: “John only cooks meat for his family”. This sentence works if John is a vegetarian and does not buy, prepare, or eat meat. But when he is with his family, who are diehard meat-eaters, he will cook meat for them. In this case, the modifier is correctly placed, as the sentence indicates that John will cook meat for his family but not do anything else with the meat.
The use of “only” works better in a sentence that indicates the speaker does just one thing in a certain situation. For example: “I eat only vegetables”. This sentence means that you consume vegetables but no meat or other food products. “I only eat vegetables,” on the other hand, means that you do nothing with vegetables except eat them. While the above is academically true, so many people say, “I only eat. . . " when they mean, “I eat only. . . " – or similar phrases – it has become common and easily understood usage.
You can look at this use of “only” another way: “John drinks scotch only with his dad”. This sentence means that John drinks scotch with his dad and with no one else.
Remember to place “only” next to (usually before) the item you want to modify, so your meaning is not confusing or awkward for your reader or listener. Review the above examples to determine which placement of “only” best expresses your intended meaning.
