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Only if we end the One-Party despotism of the commi shall we rebuild our social base for democracy.
It is only if we end the One-Party despotism of the commi that we shall rebuild our social base for democracy.
I wrote these two sentence myself.Suppose I want a provocative effect, which sentence suits my purpose better? If the two are equal as far as my question is concerned. Then is there any other nuance between them?
The meaning is more or less unchanged by the addition of 'It is'. Both convey the desired provocative effect.
One nuance I have noticed is that the first sentence passes as 'E-Prime', whereas the second does not. The nuance here is that use of the verb 'to be', (in the form of the word 'is' in this example), conveys a slightly more rigid and dogmatic meaning. This in itself can prove provocative, but then so can the less dogmatic approach of E-Prime, which is why it gained popularity amongst Guerilla ontologists such as Robert Anton Wilson. It partly depends on who you are trying to provoke and why.
