Hello Yoichi, The adjective "sole" (meaning the only one, only) can only be used attributively. This means that it can only be used right in front of the noun it describes. For example, James is the sole survivor of the crash. My sole reason for coming here was to see you. There was a sole cup in the otherwise empty cupboard. To come back to your example, personally I would say: "Excuse me. Are you selling this coffee cup separately?" "Excuse me. Can I buy just a single cup?" I would choose "single" instead of "sole" here, because "single" carries the additional sense of "not accompanied by anything else".

Hi Yoichi, In the example you gave, it would be more suitable to use 'by itself', 'on its own' or 'separately' instead sole: Excuse me, are you selling this coffee cup by itself? As for the usage of the word sole, it can be found in a few phrases such as 'the sole purpose' and 'used solely as a means of transportation'. In these phrases, it means only or singular. Hope this helped!

Hi Yoichi, The sentence would be: Are you selling this coffee cup by itself? The use of 'sole' here would be wrong. Here are some example uses of the word sole: This sole coffee cup costs £3 (meaning: this coffee cup alone costs £3) There was a sole coffee cup on the shelf (meaning: there is just one coffee cup on the shelf by itself) Hope that helps :) Priscilla

2 other options: "Can I buy just the coffee cup?" "Are you selling the coffee cup on its own?"

I agree with the previous tutors as well. It's better to use something like, "separately" or "individually". And just in case you don't know, I'd also like to add the fact that "sole" has other meanings as well. It can mean the flat, bottom part of our feet. "My soles ached after running." It can also refer to the flat, bottom part of a shoe. "The soles of my new shoes look amazing." Hope this helps!