Hi English teachers,
I am using "merely" to replace only. May I ask if the following sentence that I have typed is acceptable?Thanks in advance.
Merely 50% of the withdrawals are taxable from SRS at retirement.
Seems okay, depending on context
Maybe it's just me, Jane, but I'd use "merely" for a smaller figure
My Better Half, who is much smarter than me, agrees
0 Replies
roger
1
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Fri 13 Mar, 2015 03:16 pm
@Loh Jane,
I would use 'only' to make it sound as though the taxable amount isn't much. Either would be correct, so I guess I'm agreeing with man.
0 Replies
contrex
1
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Fri 13 Mar, 2015 05:17 pm
No. Don't use "merely". Use "only".
0 Replies
dalehileman
1
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Sun 15 Mar, 2015 08:45 am
@Loh Jane,
Con is quite right, most always "merely" doesn't work. However it might be appropriate in a situation in which the reader was expecting a much larger number
It's hard to believe he killed that pedestrian since his speed at the time was merely 1 mph
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