‘Only’ and ‘just’ can be used as ‘exclusive adverbs’. They can limit the meaning of a sentence to one particular thing or idea. For example, “I only eat vegetables.” – This sentence implies that the speaker eats nothing but vegetables. The word “only” is used to exclude all other types of food.
If you say “I just eat vegetables,” it could imply that you eat vegetables and nothing else, similar to “I only eat vegetables.” However, “just” can also imply a sense of minimalism or simplicity, as if eating vegetables is not a big deal or is a routine habit. So while “just” can be used in place of “only,” the connotations can vary depending on context.
A: You‘ve been talking to her on the phone for weeks!
B: It was only a few times.
In the context of this conversation, Person B uses “only” to focus on and minimize or downplay the frequency of phone conversations. The word “only” here is used to emphasize that the number of phone conversations was small or less than what might be expected or assumed based on Person A’s statement.
In most cases, the word “only” can be replaced by the word “just” when we the meaning is not ‘recently’. For example: “Only/Just two students came to class on Monday.”
Also, when we use “just” and “only”, word order is very important:
- “I’ve just had two pieces of pizza.” = I have recently eaten two pieces of pizza.
- “I’ve had just two pieces of pizza.” = I’ve eaten only two pieces of pizza, not 3 or 4 or 5.
In many cases in spoken English, ‘just’ is used as a softener. For example, ‘Can I just ask you a question?’ – what I’m saying here is ‘I want to ask you a question but I don’t want to inconvenience you and it’ll only take a short time’.
PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE:
(referring to the eating of dog meat)
Therefore, it is just an act of eating.
Korean male level 4 writing class.
A search in iWeb for:
it_P _*Z only|just * *
*note the C1 phrases
Finally, I knew it was just a matter of time.
“just” is used to mean ‘simply’ or ‘only’. It implies that the speaker knew that the event or situation was inevitable and would happen eventually, given enough time. The phrase “a matter of time” is often used to indicate that something is sure to happen at some point, so the word “just” emphasizes this inevitability.
1 IT’S JUST A MATTER 10818
2 IT WAS ONLY A MATTER 6602
3 IT’S ONLY A MATTER 5580
4 IT IS ONLY A MATTER 4126
5 IT’S JUST ONE OF 3777
It‘s just one of those things a cool dad does
for his daughter any day of the year.
The word “just” is used to mean ‘simply’ or ‘merely’. It implies that the action being referred to is typical or expected of a cool dad. It’s something that a cool dad would do for his daughter without any special occasion or reason, but simply because he is a cool dad. So, in this context, “just” is used to express that the action is normal or usual.
6 IT WAS JUST A MATTER 3587
7 IT IS JUST A MATTER 3348
8 IT’S JUST THAT I 3171
9 IT’S JUST THAT THE 3049
10 IT’S JUST GOING TO 2988
11 IT’S JUST THE WAY 2604
12 IT’S ONLY GOING TO 2518 *B1 adverb in a future structure:
You and I know that it‘s only going to get worse.
“only” is used to emphasize the inevitability of the situation worsening. It implies that there is no other outcome to expect; the situation is definitely going to get worse.
13 IT’S JUST A LITTLE 2150
14 IT WAS JUST ONE OF 2048
15 IT WAS ONLY A FEW 2001
16 IT’S JUST NOT WORTH 1760
17 IT’S JUST PART OF 1742
18 IT IS ONLY IN THE 1733
19 IT WAS ONLY IN THE 1705
20 IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT 1691
21 IT WAS ONLY WHEN I 1634
22 IT’S JUST A SHAME 1565
23 IT’S ONLY NATURAL THAT 1547
24 IT’S JUST NOT THE 1544
25 IT’S JUST THAT IT 1491
26 IT WORKS JUST FINE . 1417
27 IT’S JUST NOT A 1406
28 IT’S JUST THAT THEY 1398
29 IT’S JUST AS IMPORTANT 1353
30 IT’S ONLY BEEN A 1339
31 IT’S JUST A QUESTION 1337
32 IT’S JUST ME , 1325
33 IT WAS JUST A FEW 1318
34 IT’S JUST A CASE 1296
35 IT’S JUST A BIT 1286
36 IT WORKS JUST AS WELL 1282
37 IT IS JUST ONE OF 1280
38 IT’S ONLY A FEW 1277
39 IT WAS JUST A LITTLE 1237
40 IT IS ONLY NATURAL THAT 1211
41 IT’S JUST A GREAT 1195
42 IT’S JUST SOMETHING THAT 1178
43 IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE 1148
44 IT’S JUST KIND OF 1144
45 IT’S JUST A FEW 1126
46 IT IS ONLY NECESSARY TO 1095
47 IT IS ONLY POSSIBLE TO 1082
48 IT’S JUST TOO MUCH 1049
49 IT TAKES JUST A FEW 1044
50 IT’S ONLY WHEN YOU 1041
51 IT’S JUST HARD TO 1036
52 IT’S JUST THAT YOU 1031
53 IT’S JUST A DIFFERENT 1026
54 IT’S JUST SUCH A 1009
55 IT’S JUST THAT WE 1009
56 IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH 1005
57 IT WAS JUST ME AND 1004
58 IT WAS ONLY NATURAL THAT 998
59 IT’S JUST AS EASY 976
60 IT’S JUST A WAY 920
61 IT TAKES ONLY A FEW 920
62 IT’S JUST LIKE A 897
63 IT’S JUST NOT POSSIBLE 887
64 IT’S JUST LIKE THE 885
65 IT’S JUST A LOT 864
66 IT’S ONLY IN THE 864
67 IT’S JUST A REALLY 849
68 IT IS ONLY GOING TO 845
69 IT IS ONLY WHEN THE 840
70 IT’S JUST YOU AND 835
71 IT’S JUST EASIER TO 834
72 IT WAS JUST WHAT I 831
73 IT’S JUST A SIMPLE 820
74 IT’S JUST NOT GOING 803
75 IT’S ONLY NATURAL TO 791
76 IT’S ONLY FITTING THAT 788
77 IT IS ONLY A FEW 788
78 IT’S JUST BEEN A 782
79 IT’S JUST THE RIGHT 777
80 IT’S JUST NOT AS 762
81 IT’S JUST NICE TO 756
82 IT’S JUST SOMETHING I 724
83 IT WAS ONLY WHEN THE 722
84 IT’S JUST ONE MORE 718
85 IT’S JUST A GAME 714
86 IT’S JUST A SMALL 709
87 IT WAS ONLY THEN THAT 706
88 IT’S JUST A SHORT 704
89 IT’S JUST WHAT I 704
90 IT’S JUST THAT THERE 698
91 IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING 690
92 IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT 690
93 IT’S JUST AS WELL 686
94 IT’S JUST THAT , 684
95 IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE 677
96 IT IS ONLY WHEN YOU 672
97 IT’S JUST A VERY 665
98 IT’S JUST A GOOD 654
99 IT’S JUST ME AND 653
100 IT IS ONLY RECENTLY THAT 646
A2:
bit, case, few, just, matter, shame, simple, such, way
Here are some sentences written by AI using those A2 words with “only” and “just” as focusing adverbs:
“It’s just a bit chilly today, so you might want to wear a jacket.”
“In such a case, it’s only logical to ask for help.”
“I have just a few apples left in the basket.”
“It’s only a matter of time before we reach our destination.”
“It’s just a shame that the concert was cancelled.”
“The instructions are simple, it’s just a matter of following them.”
“She has such a unique way of solving problems, it’s only natural that she’s successful.”
These sentences demonstrate how “only” and “just” can be used to focus on or point to something specific in the sentence.
Finally we do a search for following numbers:
just|only _MC
1 ONLY ONE 557028
2 JUST ONE 438860
3 ONLY TWO 166201
4 JUST TWO 109212
All the information is sent
and the flowers arrive to you just two days later.
5 ONLY THREE 70206
6 JUST THREE 56365
7 JUST FOUR 32240
8 JUST FIVE 28564
9 JUST 10 22526
10 JUST 2 20805
just|only * _MC
1 ONLY HAVE ONE 28926
2 ONLY HAD ONE 12079
3 ONLY HAS ONE 8262
4 JUST THE TWO 7465
5 JUST OVER TWO 7036
6 ONLY NEED ONE 5976
7 ONLY BE ONE 5873
8 ONLY HAVE TWO 5697
9 ONLY GET ONE 5691
10 JUST THE ONE 4762