Focus Adverbs: Only, Just, Even

Exercises

Explanation

1. ONLY – limits the meaning

only = nothing / nobody else

It limits who, what, when, or how.

a) Only + subject

Only Emma passed the driving test.
→ Nobody except Emma passed.

b) Only before the verb

Emma only reads e-books.
→ She reads them, she doesn’t write them or review them.

c) Only before the object

Emma reads only crime novels.
→ She doesn’t read other kinds of books.

So always ask: what is “only” limiting? Put only directly before that word/phrase.

More examples:

• I only work from home on Fridays. (not other days)

• We only spoke for five minutes. (not longer)

• He invited only his close friends. (no colleagues, no family)

2. JUST – “only”, “a moment ago”, or “nothing more”

just has a few common B2 meanings:

a) just = only / simply

I just want a glass of water.
→ I don’t want anything else.

She just asked a question.
→ She did nothing wrong, only that.

b) just = a very short time ago

I’ve just finished my homework.
→ A moment ago.

He just left the office.
→ He left a few minutes ago.

c) just = exactly / really (spoken English)

That’s just what I needed.
→ Exactly what I needed.

It was just amazing.
→ Really amazing.

3. EVEN – shows surprise or something extreme

We use even when something is surprising, unusual or stronger than expected.

It goes before the surprising part.

Even the teacher couldn’t solve the problem.
→ This is surprising, because the teacher is usually good at maths.

She didn’t even say thank you.
→ We expect “thank you”, but she didn’t say it.

The film was boring; even my little brother fell asleep.
→ Children usually love films, so this is surprising.

More examples:

• He didn’t even try to apologise.

• Even on holiday she checks her work email.

• I can’t believe you even remembered my cat’s birthday!

4. Where do we put only / just / even?

a) With one main verb

Put the adverb before the main verb:

• She only eats vegan food.

• I just called you.

• They even helped us clean.

b) With auxiliary verbs (have, will, can, etc.)

Put the adverb after the first auxiliary:

• She has just arrived.

• We can only stay for an hour.

• They will even pay for the hotel.

c) With “be” as the main verb

Put the adverb after “be”:

• He is only 15.

• This was just a joke.

• It is even better than before.

Quick Summary

• only → limits something (only one person/thing/time)

• just → only / simply / a moment ago / exactly

• even → something surprising or extreme

• Put them close to the word you want to emphasise