student asking question

Can I say "but" instead of "only" here? what does "only" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, that's correct! In this context, "only" holds the same function as "but" - to indicate that the speaker was not able to do something/complete the action. Thus, we can understand "only" and "but" to mean the same thing, which is "except for the fact." Ex: I wanted to order takeout. Only I couldn't, because the restaurant was closed. (But I couldn't, because the restaurant was closed.) Ex: She reached to pull open the door, only it was stuck. (She reached to pull open the door, but it was stuck.)

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