Writing precisely is important if you want your meaning to be clear, and the word "only" can't be thrown just anywhere in a sentence if you want to write with precision. (And if you don't want to write with precision, you probably shouldn't bother being a writer.)
This rule is simple: The word "only" needs to be as close as possible to the word or words it modifies. Here are some examples:
INCORRECT: Fritz only ate Raisin Bran once a week.
You probably know what the writer is trying to say here, but if you look closely, you'll see that this sentence is saying that the only thing Fritz did was eat Raisin Bran once a week. I'm going to guess that Fritz also read books, watched TV and used the bathroom, so this can't be accurate.
CORRECT: He ate Raisin Bran only once a week.
Here, our meaning is clear.
While most readers will overlook poor placement of the word "only" and understand what the writer meant to say, there may be times when the word's correct placement is crucial. If you're in the habit of placing the word properly every time, you won't have to worry about bungling it when it really matters.
© Holly A. Heyser
