Which one?

Question

Hi all,Which one should I prefer to complete the sentence below?----------- you don't tell my secret to others, I promise that I will keep yours forever.*If*If onlyI think that both of them share the same meaning. But some say "only if" can't possible in this context. I wonder why...? Thank you.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I'm the original poster.

I'm sorry. I wrote the option B wrong. I should be Onlyif

Which one should I prefer to complete the sentence below?

----------- you don't tell my secret to others, I promise that I will keep yours forever.

*If

*Only if

Thanks again.

CalifJim · Answer

I would use "if".

The rest of your question is confusing. "Only if" is not a choice you give for filling in the blank, and yet you ask about it as if it were in the list.

In each case where you have "only if" or "if only", please check again to be sure you have the one you intend.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for the answer. I mean "only if". I know that "if only" has totally different meaning.

But what is the difference between "if" and "only if"? I think they have got the same meaning. I need a brief explanation.

Blue Jay · Answer

They are similar in meaning, but "only if" suggests that if the other person reveals your secret, you are very likely to reveal theirs. "If" suggests that you will never reveal their secret if they don't reveal yours, but you would not feel obliged to keep their secret if they do reveal yours, so you might or might not reveal it under those circumstances.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI'm the original poster. I'm sorry. I wrote the option B wrong. I should be Onlyif Which one should I prefer to complete the sentence below?----------- you don't tell my secret to others, I promise that I will keep yours forever.*If*Only ifThanks again.

I would use "if". "only if" doesn't seem to go there.

"only if" is like "if so, then yes; if not, then no".

So that's like "I promise to do this if you don't tell, and I don't promise if you do tell".

But if you tell, it's later, and it's too late for me to take back a promise that was "forever". I've already promised. Plus, when I promise or don't promise, I don't know the future, so I don't know whether I'm promising or not promising. It's all way too confusing!

All in all, "only if" doesn't make sense. At least not to me.

CJ

Edit: Actually, it's "if and only if" that's like "if so, then yes; if not, then no". That more or less invalidates my reply except for the part that it's all too confusing to use "only if".

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your explanations CalifJim and Blue Jay. I got it now. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Which one?

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