Answer Question
Misplaced modifier?
In English, misplaced modifiers are quite common. Modifiers such as "only," "just," "nearly," and "barely" are often misplaced and can create ambiguity when they are. For example:
"She only forgot her wallet." This means that all she did was forget her wallet. She didn't lose it, she didn't drop it, she didn't misplace it.
"She forgot only her wallet." This means that she remembered everything else, except her wallet.
"The band only sang three songs." This means that the band did nothing else but sing three songs. They didn't play, they didn't chant, they didn't rap, and they didn't hum.
"The band sang only three songs." This means that the band did not sing six, eight, or even ten songs. They sang a measly three.
"Just Elizabeth was picked to read the book." This means that no one else was selected to read.
"Elizabeth was just picked to read the book." This means that Elizabeth was picked moments ago.
"We nearly worked for three weeks on the project." This means that, while we may have made an attempt, no work was actually done.
"We worked for nearly three weeks on the project." This means that we worked for almost three weeks.
"He barely hit the ball ten feet." This means that, instead of striking it hard, he must have merely tapped the ball.
"He hit the ball barely ten feet." This means that, even though he put in a good effort, the ball didn't go very far.
Now, onto my question. In the matching exercise, the English phrase is, "Did you only pay twenty-one euros?" and the matching French phrase is "Vous avez seulement payé vingt et un euros?" In the English phrase, the question is asking whether someone payed twenty-one euros and did nothing else. If the question read instead, "Did you pay only twenty-one euros?" then it would be asking if that was the total amount payed, implying that whatever was purchased was done so at a bargain rate. Can the word "seulement" be placed after "payé" as in English to get a corresponding alternate meaning?
In French, are there rules for placement of modifiers and are they followed in both spoken and written language, or are the rules only for pedants like myself?
"She only forgot her wallet." This means that all she did was forget her wallet. She didn't lose it, she didn't drop it, she didn't misplace it.
"She forgot only her wallet." This means that she remembered everything else, except her wallet.
"The band only sang three songs." This means that the band did nothing else but sing three songs. They didn't play, they didn't chant, they didn't rap, and they didn't hum.
"The band sang only three songs." This means that the band did not sing six, eight, or even ten songs. They sang a measly three.
"Just Elizabeth was picked to read the book." This means that no one else was selected to read.
"Elizabeth was just picked to read the book." This means that Elizabeth was picked moments ago.
"We nearly worked for three weeks on the project." This means that, while we may have made an attempt, no work was actually done.
"We worked for nearly three weeks on the project." This means that we worked for almost three weeks.
"He barely hit the ball ten feet." This means that, instead of striking it hard, he must have merely tapped the ball.
"He hit the ball barely ten feet." This means that, even though he put in a good effort, the ball didn't go very far.
Now, onto my question. In the matching exercise, the English phrase is, "Did you only pay twenty-one euros?" and the matching French phrase is "Vous avez seulement payé vingt et un euros?" In the English phrase, the question is asking whether someone payed twenty-one euros and did nothing else. If the question read instead, "Did you pay only twenty-one euros?" then it would be asking if that was the total amount payed, implying that whatever was purchased was done so at a bargain rate. Can the word "seulement" be placed after "payé" as in English to get a corresponding alternate meaning?
In French, are there rules for placement of modifiers and are they followed in both spoken and written language, or are the rules only for pedants like myself?