Return to Answer

Yes, it's grammatically correct. "Only five" in this context means that five proposals were accepted, and no others.

Only adjective [attributive] 1 Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary:  From "More example sentences": It's always a good sign when you can recognise almost every single track from only one repeat. - ODO

It is idiomatic to say "one of only five that had been accepted". You can say "one of the few ...", but "one of the only five ..." is not idiomatic.

As @BillJ notes, the structure of the phrase "one of the only five" suggests you are claiming the whole group of five to be yours, but the context and specifics invalidate that interpretation. An example of this structure is the phrase "one of the only families", where the one is a whole family, not simply a family member. Note, however, that families is plural.

Now, the following sounds fine:

The only five websites you need to find a job in development - International NGO Jobs

So why does "one of the only five that had been accepted" sound awkward?

I think it has to do with intent. In the websites quote, the author is claiming that there is a definitive group of five websites to consider. In your proposal quote, the focus is on the small number of proposals accepted, not on the definitive group of five. The definite article shifts the focus from the size of the group to the group itself. It doesn't make the sentence ungrammatical, but it may convey a slightly different picture, one at odds with the sentence as a whole.

Yes, "one of only five" is grammatically correct. So is "one of the only five". The word "only" can be an adverb or an adjective, depending on what it modifies.

We use only as an adjective to mean that there is just one or very few of something, or that there are no others:

• He was the only person in the room.

We use only as an adverb to mean that something is limited to some people, things, an amount or an activity:

• Only a few hundred houses survived the hurricane without any damage.

- Cambridge Dictionary

Whether the is present or absent, your sentence has the sense that

• many proposals were submitted;
• you submitted one proposal;
• five proposals were accepted; and
• yours was one of the five proposals that were accepted.

The question that remains relates to the difference between

1. one of only five that were accepted; and
2. one of the only five that were accepted.

In both cases, only is used to indicate that there are very few of something, so both use only as an adjective. There is only a nuanced difference between the two cases.

In #1, the emphasis is that your proposal was one of very few that were accepted.
In #2, the emphasis is that yours was within the set that was accepted.

Yes, it's grammatically correct. "Only five" in this context means that five proposals were accepted, and no others.

Only adjective [attributive] 1 Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary: From "More example sentences": It's always a good sign when you can recognise almost every single track from only one repeat. - ODO

It is idiomatic to say "one of only five that had been accepted". You can say "one of the few ...", but "one of the only five ..." is not idiomatic.

The structure of the phrase "one of the only five" suggests you are claiming the whole group of five to be yours, but the context and specifics invalidate that interpretation. An example of this structure is the phrase "one of the only families", where the one is a whole family, not simply a family member. Note, however, that families is plural.

Now, the following sounds fine:

The only five websites you need to find a job in development - International NGO Jobs

So why does "one of the only five that had been accepted" sound awkward?

I think it has to do with intent. In the websites quote, the author is claiming that there is a definitive group of five websites to consider. In your proposal quote, the focus is on the small number of proposals accepted, not on the definitive group of five. The definite article shifts the focus from the size of the group to the group itself. It doesn't make the sentence ungrammatical, but it may convey a slightly different picture, one at odds with the sentence as a whole.

Yes, it's grammatically correct. "Only five" in this context means that five proposals were accepted, and no others.

Only adjective [attributive] 1 Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary: From "More example sentences": It's always a good sign when you can recognise almost every single track from only one repeat. - ODO

It is idiomatic to say "one of only five that had been accepted". You can say "one of the few ...", but "one of the only five ..." is not idiomatic.

As @BillJ notes, the structure of the phrase "one of the only five" suggests you are claiming the whole group of five to be yours, but the context and specifics invalidate that interpretation. An example of this structure is the phrase "one of the only families", where the one is a whole family, not simply a family member. Note, however, that families is plural.

Now, the following sounds fine:

The only five websites you need to find a job in development - International NGO Jobs

So why does "one of the only five that had been accepted" sound awkward?

I think it has to do with intent. In the websites quote, the author is claiming that there is a definitive group of five websites to consider. In your proposal quote, the focus is on the small number of proposals accepted, not on the definitive group of five. The definite article shifts the focus from the size of the group to the group itself. It doesn't make the sentence ungrammatical, but it may convey a slightly different picture, one at odds with the sentence as a whole.

Yes, it's grammatically correct. "Only five" in this context means that five proposals were accepted, and no others.

Only adjective [attributive] 1 Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary: From "More example sentences": It's always a good sign when you can recognise almost every single track from only one repeat. - ODO

It is idiomatic to say "one of only five that had been accepted". You can say "one of the few ...", but "one of the only five ..." is not idiomatic.

The structure of the phrase "one of the only five" suggests you are claiming the whole group of five to be yours, but the context and specifics invalidate that interpretation. An example of this structure is the phrase "one of the only families", where the one is a whole family, not simply a family member. Note, however, that families is plural.

Yes, it's grammatically correct. "Only five" in this context means that five proposals were accepted, and no others.

Only adjective [attributive] 1 Alone of its or their kind; single or solitary: From "More example sentences": It's always a good sign when you can recognise almost every single track from only one repeat. - ODO

It is idiomatic to say "one of only five that had been accepted". You can say "one of the few ...", but "one of the only five ..." is not idiomatic.

The structure of the phrase "one of the only five" suggests you are claiming the whole group of five to be yours, but the context and specifics invalidate that interpretation. An example of this structure is the phrase "one of the only families", where the one is a whole family, not simply a family member. Note, however, that families is plural.

Now, the following sounds fine:

The only five websites you need to find a job in development - International NGO Jobs

So why does "one of the only five that had been accepted" sound awkward?

I think it has to do with intent. In the websites quote, the author is claiming that there is a definitive group of five websites to consider. In your proposal quote, the focus is on the small number of proposals accepted, not on the definitive group of five. The definite article shifts the focus from the size of the group to the group itself. It doesn't make the sentence ungrammatical, but it may convey a slightly different picture, one at odds with the sentence as a whole.