【JLPT N5】Grammar：〜だけ / ~dake

sentence pattern: 〜だけ / ~dake

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: Only / Merely / Just

onstruction: 

• Noun + だけ
  • E.g. クリスだけ [Only Chris]
• Noun + だけ + (が / は / を)
  • E.g. クリスだけが / クリスだけを / クリスだけは [Only Chris]
• Noun + Particle (other than が / は / を) + だけ
  • E.g. クリスにだけ [To only Chris]
  • E.g. クリスからだけ [From only Chris]
• Noun + だけ + Particle (other than が / は / を)
  • E.g. クリスだけに [Only to Chris]
  • E.g. クリスだけから [Only from Chris]
• (Verb / い-Adjective) informal + だけ + (だ / です)
  • E.g. 話はなすだけだ / 話はなしただけです [X only speaks / X only spoke]
  • E.g. 高たかいだけだ / 高たかかっただけです [X is only expensive / X was only expensive]
• な-Adjective stem + (な / だった) + だけ + (だ / です)
  • E.g. 静しずかなだけだ / 静しずかだっただけです [X is only quiet / X was only quiet]
• Potential form verb + だけ
  • E.g. できるだけ [As much as one can]

NOTE

• だけ is basically equivalent to the English word “Only“. However, the precise connotation depends on whether だけ modifies a noun, adjective, or verb.
• When だけ modifies a noun, the associated particle is important:
  • は, が, and を can optionally be dropped, but if they remain they must be placed AFTER だけ.
    • E.g. スミスさんだけ(が)来きた。[Only Mr. Smith came.]
  • Other particles such as に, と, or で can NOT be dropped. They may be placed before or after だけ depending on the speaker’s intent. When the particle is placed before だけ, the sentence conveys a stronger feeling of exclusiveness.
    • E.g. スシロだけに行いきました。[I went to Sushiro only.]
    • E.g. スシロにだけ行いきました。[I ONLY went to Sushiro.]
• With adjectives and verbs, keep in mind that だけ modifies the full preceding phrase rather than the single preceding word. Misplacing だけ can completely change the connotation:
  • E.g. 魚さかなだけを食たべた。[I ate only fish.] Here だけ follows the noun 魚さかな and not the predicate 食たべた, so the sentence conveys the idea of “The only thing I ate was fish“.
  • E.g. 魚さかなを食たべただけだ。[The only thing I did was eat fish.] Here だけ follows the full phrase 魚さかなを食たべた, which conveys the idea of “I ate fish and did nothing else“.
• A potential form verb + だけ expresses the idea of “Do X as much as one can“.
  • E.g. 踊おどれるだけ踊おどろう。[Let’s dance as much as we can.]
  • E.g. 食たべられるだけ食たべたい。[I want to eat as much as possible.]

Note the difference between similar sentence patterns

～しか（～ません） (JLPT N4)
Used when it is unfortunate or inadequate. (Negative)
[Explanation] “Shika” is only used in negative sentences.

～のみ（JLPT N2）
This is a formal expression for “only ~”.
Limit yourself to one out of many. The meaning of “only” is strong.

Example Sentences

スミスさんだけ(が)来きた。[Only Mr. Smith came.]

僕ぼくにだけ話はなしてください。[Talk to me only, please.]

私わたしは日本にほんへ一度いちどだけ行いった。[I only went to Japan once.]

雪子ゆきこさんとはデートしただけだ。[I only dated Yukiko, nothing more.]

この家いえは大おおきいだけだ。[This house is big, that’s all.]

このお菓子かしは色いろがきれいなだけだ。[This candy has a pretty color, that’s all.]

できるだけゆっくり話はなしてください。[Please speak as slowly as possible.]