"only" as many friends as I have

[Seiichi Myoga]

Do you agree (1) means (2)?

(1) Paul has only as many friends as I have.
(2) Paul has as many friends as or fewer than I have.

Thank you in advance
Seiichi MYOGA

[MrPedantic]

Hello Seiichi,

To my mind, no; the meaning of #2 might be better expressed with e.g.

3. Paul has at most as many friends as I have.

All the best,

MrP

[Molly]

[Yankee]

Hi Seiichi

I agree with MrP. Your sentences do not mean the same thing to me, either.

The use of 'only' in your first sentence suggests to me that the speaker might be correcting or contradicting someone who has suggested that Paul has more friends than "I". However, because the speaker did not say "fewer than", "not more than" or "not as many as", I am left with the impression that the speaker means that the number of friends is the same.

That's my take.
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, and native speaker of American English