Sometimes “Only” Should Come First

I occasionally point out times when people write “only” too early in a sentence. Such as here and here. 

The rule is that in English (not necessarily other languages) adjectives, such as “only,” should come directly before the word they modify, particularly when you have more than one word that it could modify.

Sometimes the correct word is the first one! For example:

The donkey’s three-times-repeated reply is correct! He only wants.