soló un café

I was in a restaurant next to where I work, and the owner (who is from Puerto Rico and knows I'm trying to learn espanól) asked me what I wanted to order. I said "*soló un café*" with confidence and pride. He gave me sympathic nod and smile, and suggested that I should say something like "*solamente un cafe*". Is one way better than the other? What form is solamente.

Before the experts answer, I'm going to hazard a guess. Could "soló" have the intonation of something that I do by myself as oppose to "solomente" which is closer in meaning to the english only or just? Just a thought, please correct me if I'm off the mark.

Well, I'm not an expert, either, but I think I'll jump in as well. According to my dictionary, *solo *(with no accent) is an adjective that means "alone, by oneself." The word *sólo* (with an accent on the first o) is an adverb that means "only, just." And one of the examples my dictionary provides is *sólo quiero café* - I just want a coffee. So it looks as if what Hombre said was OK, though if he said *soló* (with an accent on the last syllable) rather than *sólo*, that might have been perceived as incorrect. *Solamente* is an adverb and means pretty much the same thing as *sólo.* (And just to confuse things a little, *solo* with no accent can also mean "black coffee"!) :shock: