109
4.3 Development of Onlyadversative only. Of 314 instances of only in the EModE section of the HC, 33
are clause initial, with slightly over half of these (51%, or 17) being instances
of adversative only. In the HC, there is a distinct change from the fi rst subpe-
riod (1500– 1570), where no example of adversative only occurs, to the second
and third subperiods (1570– 1640) and (1640– 1710), where 7 and 10 examples
occur, respectively.^11
Based on the evidence of COHA, CLMET3.0, and the OED (s.v., only , defs
B 1 and 2), the earliest conjunctive uses of only in the ‘exceptive’ sense appear
in the late eighteenth century, and the usage becomes common in the nine-
teenth century. Note the modal contexts in which these uses occur:
(17) a. At length their passion became so violent, that only there was no blood-
shed, Pyramus and Thisbe were nothing to them for affection and sin-
cerity. (a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron Comic romance (1775) II. xix.
162 [OED])
b. No matter; onl y will there be room for us all? (1796 C. Burney , Mem. Life
Metastasio I. 64 [OED])
c. Only he is very melancholy, he would be agreeable. (1802 H. Martin , Helen
of Glenross II. 226 [OED])
d. Why, honour is – is – dam’me if I can tell you what it is, only she is my
mistress. (1815 Clarke, The fair Americans [COHA])
e. He is pleased enough with your conduct in that affair, only he thought you
might have made him your confi dant. (1824 McHenry, O’Halloran; or, The
insurgent chief [COHA])
f. but I should n’t have considered that of much account, only the daughter
herself seemed as much as to insinuate that the thing wouldn’t do. (1832
Kennedy, Swallow barn [COHA])
g. Young Fred Bullock, one of his chief informants, would have liked to
make a bid for her himself (it was so the young banker expressed it),
only he was booked to Maria Osborne. (1843 Thackeray, Vanity fair
[CLMET3.0])
h. W e will have the lamp, and I can easily explain if an observation should be
made ... only it will not be, (1845– 46 The letters of Robert Browning and
Elizabeth Barrett Browning [CLMET3.0])
i. There were those among them who said he was the house- steward, only he
dined with the family (1848– 50 Thackeray, The history of Pendennis 1 Ch.
XXII [Poutsma 1905 : 391])
j. She even talked of a possible orphan for the F. U. E. E., only that unlucky
prejudice against Mr. Mauleverer was sure to stand in the way. (1865
Younge, The clever woman of the family [CLMET3.0])
11 The sizes of the subperiods of the Early Modern English section of the HC are 190,160 words
(EModE1), 189,800 words (EModE2), and 171,040 words (EModE3). Thus, this (normalized)
frequency of ‘adversative’ only is very low.