"We have but a choice to be responsible citizens"

Question

I am trying to phrase this: "We don't have any other choice but to be responsible citizens" as "We have but a choice to be responsible citizens". Is this correct? Or have I said exactly the opposite?

It would be great if someone could explain "have but a" phrase more elaborately.

Thank you!

Answer 1

"Have but ___" is a way of saying you have a said amount/number/degree of something. It is a phrase that in standard use implies scarcity.

• I have but one chance left = I have exactly one chance left
• I have but seconds left to live = I have seconds left to live

Although the second one doesn't give you a definite number of seconds, the phrase implies that how many ever are left are clearly not adequate.

So your sentence does mean what you intended it to, but your instinct is right in that it sounds just a bit clunky and obtuse.

Answer 2

You have two different senses of but here . . .

But the preposition meaning except:

We don't have any other choice but to be responsible citizens.

We don't have any other choice except to be responsible citizens.

But the adverb meaning only:

We have but a choice to be responsible citizens.

We have only a choice to be responsible citizens.

I think you can see that your adverb but doesn't really work there. Try, perhaps:

We have but one choice: to be responsible citizens.

We have only one choice: to be responsible citizens.

_{See: but at Lexico}