Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
Sorry, seems like all I've managed to say is 'that's the way it is'. What exactly are you looking for here?teacherjuli wrote:Government actually invented only MONEY, and only THAT do they have any real right to tax.
Questions:
•How would you explain that SAI in the sentence above is not a mistake?
It's a function of using the word 'only' and the author's wish to put emphasis on the object of the sentence. It's more of a stylistic choice than anything else, and could be expressed in other ways. Just one of those quirks of English.
•Would you draw an analogy between the Wh-operator and the emphatic operator only ? If so, how?
Only to say that it's one of the few exceptions where we can move our auxiliary verb in front of the subject. There are other times, for instance:
"Where did you hear such nonsense?" (one of those wh-operators)
"Never did I hear such nonsense." (no wh-operator here, just the speaker wanted to place emphasis on the fact they had NEVER heard such nonsense.)
I'm sure there are more examples, but that is the first that came to mind.
•What would you say about sentences in which only modifies the subject, e.g., Only John left early. Why is SAI not triggered in such a case?
Because we aren't playing with 'normal' word order in that sentence like we are in the others.
Any feedback would be MUCH appreciated!