# Only



## kyn

How do you say "only" in "the only ..." and "only because"?
E.g.:
- He made me help him (only) because I'm the only one who can do this job.
- They help him only because they like him.
- They like him (only) because he's the only boy in the house.


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## Captain Haddock

Of course, a dictionary will say that だけ means "only", but there are many words you can use to get the idea across.

• この仕事ができるのは私くらいのものだから、私が助けさせられたのです is my take on #1.

#2: （その人たちは）ただかれが好きだから、助けてあげる。

#3: （その人たちは）家庭に彼しか男の子がいないので、彼が好きになった（らしいです）。

#3 is a little odd without context. What does being the only boy have to do with being liked? There might be a better translation if I knew exactly what was meant.

(As usual, native speakers might want to critique my sentences.)


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## almostfreebird

#1 この仕事ができるのは私くらいのものだから、*私が助けさせられたのです*
  This is okay, but a little awkward.

   この仕事ができるのは私くらいのものだから、*私に任せられたのです or                                                                               私に任されたのです*(Just      
because it’ｓ just about only me/I who can do the job, it was placed in my charge.)

#2: （その人たちは）ただかれが好きだから、助けて*あげる*。
    This is OK, but
    This one sounds much more natural.
    （その人たちは）ただかれが好きだから、助けて*あげるのです*　or　助けて*あげるんです*。
    (They will help you just because they like you.)

#3: （その人たちは）家庭に彼しか男の子がいないので、彼が好きになった。
    yes, this is a little odd without context. How about：

　　（その人たちは）家庭に彼しか男の子がいないので、彼を溺愛した。（They loved him blindly because he was the only boy in the family.）


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## kyn

Thanks very much for your help.
But yesterday I read in a book that "only because" is "~ ばかりに". So, can I use it here instead of ただ～から? Is there any difference?
As for the 3rd sentence, what I meant was "the only kid".


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## Captain Haddock

Thanks for the reply, Almostfreebird. 私に任せられたのです does sound more natural, doesn't it? 

Kyn: I don't think ばかりに really means "because" in any way.


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## kyn

The explanation for "ばかりに" in this book is "～だけのために”, and here are 2 of the examples:
- お金がないばかりに、大学に進学できなかった。
- 日本語が下手なばかりに、いいアルバイトが探せません。
And this is a Japanese book so I'm pretty sure that they're right. I'm just wondering if "ばかりに" is different from "ただ～から"


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## Captain Haddock

Hm, I guess it sort of makes sense in those sentences. ばかりに seems more emphatic to me, and often negative in its emphasis, like your two examples above.


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## Flaminius

ばかりに expresses the reason for adversity.  The second clause does not necessarily have to have a negation:
若くして成功したばかりに、すっかり傲慢な性格になってしまった

I am afraid that this construction cannot be used in any of *kyn*'s first three examples because the persons referred to get a better lot in them.


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## Captain Haddock

By "negative in emphasis", I meant negative in the "マイナスな意味" sense.


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## Flaminius

Quite right.  Reading back, I see the meaning is there.  In any event I thought giving a live example wouldn't hurt.


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