Adjectives that limit the noun that they go before are called limiting adjectives. They restrict the noun to a specific person, place, thing, or idea. Limiting adjectives can be contrasted with descriptive adjectives, which describe the qualities or traits of a noun.
For example, in the sentence “The main character in the story is a young girl,” the adjective main limits the noun character to a specific one, namely the character who is most important to the story. The adjective main does not describe the character’s qualities or traits.
Another example is the sentence “The only way to get to the island is by boat.” The adjective only limits the noun way to a specific one, namely the way that is the only possible way to get to the island. The adjective only does not describe the way’s qualities or traits.
Although this grammar point is considered A2 in the English Grammar Profile, in the English Vocabulary Profile:
‘main’ ADJECTIVE [always before noun] = B1 most important or largest
An iWeb search for:
main|only _NN
1 ONLY THING 275654
2 ONLY WAY 275017
3 ONLY NEED 78976
4 ONLY TIME 72450
5 MAIN STREET 71594
6 ONLY REASON 70637
TLC STUDENT SPEAKING TEST:
It was my favourite cake
and that’s the only reason I used to go to school every day.
male India B2
7 MAIN MENU 69509
8 MAIN REASON 64041
9 ONLY USE 60091
10 ONLY PROBLEM 60070
11 ONLY WILL 54761
12 ONLY ONES 46679
13 ONLY ONCE 45161
14 MAIN CHARACTER 44740
15 ONLY 2 43021
16 ONLY TAKES 42553
17 ONLY 1 42285
18 ONLY DIFFERENCE 42175
The only difference is in age.
‘only’ emphasizes that there is no other difference between the two characters being compared. In other words, they are identical in every way except for their age.
19 ONLY PERSON 41221
20 ONLY OPTION 37796
21 ONLY WORKS 37137
22 ONLY REAL 36282
23 ONLY PLACE 35926
24 MAIN REASONS 33683
25 MAIN EVENT 32503
26 ONLY CAN 31767
27 ONLY 3 31693
28 MAIN THING 31662
29 ONLY PART 30999
30 ONLY WANT 30611
31 ONLY FOUR 30209
32 MAIN FOCUS 30062
33 ONLY PEOPLE 29017
34 ONLY HALF 27853
35 ONLY MAKES 27782
36 ONLY EVER 25632
37 MAIN GOAL 24904
The main goal is to spark the imagination of your target.
38 MAIN CHARACTERS 24837
39 ONLY GOT 24410
40 ONLY APPLIES 23437
41 ONLY 5 23248
42 ONLY POSSIBLE 23039
43 ONLY TOOK 22837
44 MAIN PROBLEM 22749
45 ONLY ISSUE 22262
46 ONLY FIVE 22091
47 ONLY 4 21988
48 MAIN DIFFERENCE 21664
49 ONLY 10 21546
50 ONLY SLIGHTLY 21526
51 ONLY RECENTLY 21501
52 MAIN ROAD 20506
53 MAIN ENTRANCE 19836
54 MAIN POINT 19780
The word “main” means most important. It is the point that the speaker is trying to emphasize.
C2 focus
55 ONLY DOWNSIDE 19666
56 MAIN PURPOSE 19581
57 ONLY COMPLAINT 17734
58 ONLY WORK 17301
59 ONLY USING 17141
60 MAIN TYPES 16933
61 MAIN SOURCE 16925
62 ONLY THINGS 16714
63 ONLY NEEDS 16550
64 MAIN CONCERN 16449
65 ONLY HOPE 16291
66 ONLY ALLOWED 16194
67 ONLY SEEN 15880
68 MAIN CAMPUS 15752
69 ONLY NATURAL 15703
70 MAIN PAGE 15638
71 MAIN FLOOR 15538
72 ONLY SIX 15300
73 ONLY TAKE 15157
74 ONLY ALLOWS 14989
75 MAIN BODY 14911
76 ONLY EXCEPTION 14587
77 ONLY MAKE 14394
78 ONLY SOLUTION 14349
79 ONLY : 14341
80 MAIN STAGE 14257
81 ONLY KNOW 14213
82 ONLY 20 14168
83 ONLY BEING 13936
84 ONLY VALID 13851
85 ONLY TRUE 13787
86 MAIN LINE 13631
87 ONLY 6 13606
88 ONLY GETS 13459
89 MAIN ISSUE 13266
90 ONLY CHILD 13218
91 ONLY 15 13005
92 MAIN COURSE 12852
93 ONLY WISH 12851
94 ONLY SHOWS 12824
95 ONLY! 12806
96 ONLY REQUIRES 12625
97 ONLY NEEDED 12318
98 MAIN FEATURES 12277
99 ONLY QUESTION 12277
100 ONLY GETTING 12061
A2 vocabulary:
difference, entrance, goal, hope, line, menu, point, reason, reasons, stage, types, way, wish
EXPERT EXAMPLE:
While there continues to be a debate about the reliability and validity relating to subjectivity in assigning levels,
proficiency tagging is one of the main strengths of this study.