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English word order
I don't know if the order of words in a sentence is as critical in other languages. Can you understand the distinct meaning of each of these? Try to translate them into your native language...

Only the cat sat on the mat   
The only cat sat on the mat   
The cat only sat on the mat  
The cat sat only on the mat  
The cat sat on only the mat  
The cat sat on the only mat
The cat sat on the mat only 
5 jun. 2020 19:36
Opmerkingen · 7
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21 juli 2020
Bit off topic but it does relate. Usually we would stress the word 'only' to emphasise the meaning for each sentence besides the grammatical meaning. This creates different meaning without changing word order. For example, 'I didn't say you stole my money' is a straightforward sentence but stressing a different word each time you say the sentence changes the meaning. Just something interesting I thought I'd add.
20 juli 2020
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20 juli 2020
فقط القطة جلست على السجادة
القطة الوحيدة جلست على السجادة
القطة فقط جلست على السجادة
القطة جلست على السجادة الوحيدة
القطة جلست على السجادة فقط

A few thoughts:
<ul><li>The word “only” has two different meanings here, which are conveyed using two different words in Arabic.</li><li>Sentences 3, 4, and 5 have very similar meanings, which are not distinguished in Arabic.</li><li>Nothing can come between a preposition and the object of the preposition in Arabic, which makes sentence 5 impossible.</li></ul>
5 juni 2020
It is also a good exercise for English speakers to try to do, in the language they are learning.
I think I may have got/gotten 1 to 4 and number 7 reasonably correct, but they would need checking.

And some may not be possible or covered by one sentence the one for number 1 to include two or three of the others. I am not expert enough yet.
5 juni 2020
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