can only be vs can be only

Both "can only be" and "can be only" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Can only be" is the more common and natural construction in English, where "only" typically comes before the main verb. On the other hand, "can be only" is less common and may sound awkward to native speakers.

Last updated: April 06, 2024 • 1832 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"can only be"

This phrase is used to emphasize that something has a single possibility or option. The word "only" is placed before the main verb.

Examples:

This door can only be opened with a special key.
The problem can only be solved by experts.
The software can only be installed on Windows.
The decision can only be made by the board of directors.
The truth can only be revealed in time.

Show examples from the web [+]

Thus, the prior distribution here can only be interpreted in the context of the likelihood. This point is in some sense mathematically obvious—after all, the ...
In the case of the former, it seems to me that the more natural word order -- 'there can only be one' -- has been changed for dramatic effect and to ...
Many translated example sentences containing "it can only be" – English-Dutch dictionary and search engine for English translations.
Hooks can only be called inside the body of a function component. There are three common reasons you might be seeing it: You might have mismatching versions ...
Nov 23, 2016 ... I have been recently corrected that this sentence. "The argument can only be zero." should ...
Nov 24, 2020 ... Free users or groups can only be subscribed to reports or dashboards backed by premium capacity ... I have a Power BI app and I need to add ...
Error using - Integers can only be combined with integers of the same class, or scalar doubles. Error in Code (line 27) data = data - repmat(mn,1,N);.
Dec 20, 2022 ... But this year, for the first time since we started naming countries of the year in 2013, the choice is obvious. It can only be Ukraine.
Feb 18, 2021 ... Getting "Workspaces can only be enabled in private projects" even for a private project #8580. Open. kaiyoma opened this issue on Feb 18, ...

Alternatives:

can be opened only
can be solved only
can be installed only
can be made only
can be revealed only

This phrase is correct but less common in English.

"can be only"

This phrase is also used to emphasize a single possibility or option, but it may sound awkward to native speakers. The word "only" is placed after the main verb.

Examples:

This door can be opened only with a special key.
The problem can be solved only by experts.
The software can be installed only on Windows.
The decision can be made only by the board of directors.
The truth can be revealed only in time.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 26, 2024

Jun 20, 2022 ... Hello, first of all, I am sorry to bring up the old "There Can Be Only One" tribute (etc.) summoning question. I totally understand that you ...
Jul 17, 2013 ... I would go with "There can be only one" since it is usually true that adverbs usually go AFTER the verb TO BE as in "There IS only one choice".
Sep 28, 2020 ... 45 votes, 15 comments. If I control There can be only one and my opponent as a face up dragon monster and a face down dragon monster, ...
Dec 27, 2011 ... My MySQL says "Incorrect table definition; there can be only one auto column and it must be defined as a key" So when I added primary key as ...
Jul 14, 2020 ... I tried this and it causes the error: "There can be only one input field named \"title\"." Of course my field name was different but ...
Nov 24, 2021 ... QueryFailedError: Incorrect table definition; there can be only one auto column and it must be defined as a key #8406. Closed. xiaoqiao112 ...
May 3, 2019 ... xml have both tags “KEY” and “AUTOINCREMENT”, I can't see why I still getting “Incorrect table definition; there can be only one auto column and ...
Jun 9, 2019 ... can someone explanme why it don't let me package it? i got an error UATHelper: Packaging (Windows (32-bit)): ERROR: There can be only one ...
There Can Be Only One: Each player can only control 1 monster of each Type. If a player controls 2 or more monsters of the.
There Can Be Only One Instance of Ninjatrader. 02-08-2024, 09:57 AM. I'm using autohotkey to refresh an NT8 chart via a hotkey. I'm activating the NT8 chart ...

Alternatives:

can be opened only
can be solved only
can be installed only
can be made only
can be revealed only

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can only be vs can be only

"can only be"

"can be only"

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