Does it matter where you put “only”? [duplicate]

Could you please tell me which one of these sentences is correct, or are they both grammatically correct?

This will only happen if you go with me.

This will happen only if you go with me.

Solution 1:

The misplaced modifier is a notorious feature that often crops up in English. 'Limiting modifiers', also dubbed 'multi-purpose modifiers' (accurate if not a very helpful classifier), such as only, even (arguably not a limiting modifier), always, almost, nearly, hardly, merely, scarcely, barely, simply, just, at first, and but (in he was but a youth), are frequently misplaced. They should be placed in front of the noun group etc that they are modifying to avoid confusion.

In the given example, only is 'modifying' the dependent clause, if you go with me and hence the safest place for it to be placed is just before this:

This will happen only if you go with me.

However, this sounds rather starchy, and in this case we can get away with placing it in front of the verb (as it can't be read as modifying the verb in this case):

This will only happen if you go with me.

However, with some verbs, modification by 'only' would make sense. In such cases, the switch to the pre-verb position is not advisable (though it is still used), as the primary meaning would change:

He only jogged back to the jeep when he saw the rhinos approaching. {He should have sprinted.}

He jogged back to the jeep only when he saw the rhinos approaching. {He should have started back as soon as he saw them.}