Your English Challenge

“She told him that she loved him.”

This seems like an easy sentence in English. But is it?

What if I told you that you can make this sentence mean seven different things by adding just ONE word?

Weird, I know, but keep reading . . .

The one word you add is “only.”

Here’s the key: You add “only” in front of each word of the sentence.

When you do that, you get a new meaning each time!

Okay, first read the sentences and see if you can you figure out what they mean:

1. ONLY she told him that she loved him.

2. She ONLY told him that she loved him.

3. She told ONLY him that she loved him.

4. She told him ONLY that she loved him.

5. She told him that ONLY she loved him.

6. She told him that she ONLY loved him.

7. She told him that she loved ONLY him.

Now, some of these sentences have more than one meaning, but I’ve given you what I think is the most common meaning below.

1. ONLY she told him that she loved him.

She told him about her love for him. No one else told him that she loved him. She was the only one.

2. She ONLY told him that she loved him.

She did only one thing: tell him that she loved him. But she didn’t do anything else. (Sorry, no kiss!)

3. She told ONLY him that she loved him.

She has told no other person that she loves him. She only said it to him.

4. She told him ONLY that she loved him.

She didn’t tell him anything else, only that she loved him. This is admittedly very similar to #2. The difference, if there is one, is a matter of emphasis: #2 is emphasizing (making you pay attention to; stressing) that no other action was taken, while #4 is emphasizing what she did or did not actually say to him.

5. She told him that ONLY she loved him.

She is the only person who loves him. No one else loves him, not even his mother (okay, maybe his mother, too).

6. She told him that she ONLY loved him.

She loves him, but that’s all. She might not have other feelings for him. She might not even *like* him and might not be ready to do anything else, like marry him.

7. She told him that she loved ONLY him

He is the only person she loves. There’s no other person she loves. Notice this is not the same as #5. In #5, she is saying that no other woman loves him. But in #7, she’s saying that she doesn’t love any other man, only him.

Of course, all this is from the perspective (viewpoint; opinion of) the woman. What does the man think?

Maybe he doesn’t even know her. Maybe she was some crazy woman who came up to him on the street and started talking about loving him. Who knows?

Only he knows!

~Jeff

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from ESL Podcast Blog https://www.eslpod.com/eslpod_blog/2019/05/14/your-english-challenge/
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