Talk:if only

Usage note

The complex conjunction if only is generally described as an emphatic use of if standing alone and it is, but: It is only used in unreal conditionals referring to the past rather than any putative future as in, e.g.:

   If only you hadn't been so rude to her, she might have helped

so we cannot allow:

 *If only you come to my party you will see my sister

or

   *If only you came to my party would you see my sister

and in these cases, we can, however, reverse the phrase and allow:

   Only if you come to my party will you see my sister

or

   Only if you came to my party you would see my sister

but with only if a reversal of subject and auxiliary verb is required. It is not used with non-assertive forms in the way that if is used because it is not a reference to a possibility but rather to a certainty, so we can compare, e.g.:

   If anyone had told us the bus was cancelled, we wouldn't have come so early

with

   If only someone had told us the bus was cancelled, we wouldn't have come so early.

https://www.eltconcourse.com/training/inservice/phrases_clauses_sentences/condition_concession.html JMGN (talk) 16:52, 12 August 2023 (UTC)