conditional "only" Forum

[greyblob]

I perused the topics on the conditional "only," and became even more confused.

Did I correctly diagram these two sentences? Or are they conditionally the same?

1. Only teenagers complain.
C --> T

2. Only people who complain are teenagers.
T --> C

[sjrose1]

is it "the only people who complain are teenagers" or is it "only people who complain are teenagers?" the article makes a big difference.

if its "the only people who complain are teenagers" then it is c----->t
if it is "only people who complain are teenagers" then it is t----->c cause if you don't complain you ain't a teen.

[sjrose1]

i disagree, if it is "the only people who complain are teenagers" that means that if someone complains, they must be a teenager, because only teenagers complain. c ---->t
if its only people who complain are teenagers that says that people who don't complain can't be teenagers, so if t ---->c

[sjrose1]

nvm you went away

[greyblob]

Does "the" really make that much a difference? Thanks in any case.

[Anaconda]

#2 can't be T -> C because that would imply if you're a teenager then you complain. That's not necessarily true. What you're saying is that the only people that complain are teenagers:

If you complain then you're a teenager.

C -> T

Both sentences are saying the same exact thing, just in different ways.

95% confident about this, someone else should chime in.

[sjrose1]

I agree, if it is "the only people who complain are teenagers" then it is c--->t
but if it is "only people who complain are teenagers" then complaining is a requirement for being a teenager, so it is t--->c

[Anaconda]

I agree, if it is "the only people who complain are teenagers" then it is c--->t
but if it is "only people who complain are teenagers" then complaining is a requirement for being a teenager, so it is t--->c

I see where you're coming from now, makes sense. It was so subtle I didn't even realize it before re-reading it a few times. I don't think we need to worry about that though, the chances LSAC tries to fuck us over that distinction is more than one in a million.

EDIT: After reconsidering it, I don't believe "the" matters. Either way it doesn't necessarily mean ALL teenagers complain.

[sjrose1]

i disagree but maybe i'm just being silly and this is probably more confusing than helpful for the op.