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  1. It is proved only in few papers related to math.
  2. It is only proved in few papers related to math.

Which of the above is correct ?

Dhanishtha Ghosh
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jai durga
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  • You only prove you have no done no research. You prove only that you have done no research. – Lambie Nov 05 '21 at 14:40
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    What you *probably* want to say is *It is proved in **only a** few papers related to math*. Where ***only*** emphasises that the number of papers is limited to *not more than a "few"*, whereas both of your versions could in principle be misinterpreted as emphasising that the action was limited to *nothing more than "proving"*. – FumbleFingers Nov 05 '21 at 15:55
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    Does this answer your question? ["I only teach you" vs. "I teach only you" vs. "I teach you only"](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/16026/i-only-teach-you-vs-i-teach-only-you-vs-i-teach-you-only) Also [position of 'only' and the respective change in meaning](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/27595/) and [Does the position of "only" give a different meaning to the sentence?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/8979/) and [How can the position of 'only' change the meaning of a sentence?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/93284/) and many, many more. – FumbleFingers Nov 05 '21 at 15:57

1 Answers1

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None of them are correct. The correct answer:

It is proved in only a few papers related to math. / It is proved only in a few papers related to math.

The answer can’t be:

  1. It is proved in only few papers related to math.
  2. It is only proved in few papers related to math.

For all nouns, we need an article. ‘Papers’= a noun Since we are talking about ‘a few’ and not any specific one, the answer is ‘a’. The other option:

It is proved in only a few papers related to math.

In this sentence, the clause can be ‘in only’ or ‘only in’.

Genie
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  • If you need more information on articles, you may see my answer on the post here: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/301283/using-two-indefinite-articles-in-a-phrase – Genie Nov 06 '21 at 01:56