How do you use the word "alone" when you want to use it as a synonym for "only"?
The paints are so dry that I can't paint new pictures on them alone; I would need to find color pencils.
or should I say
The paints are so dry that I can't paint new pictures with them alone; I would need to find color pencils.
I'm hearing "alone" used a lot, but I can't quite grasp how people around me use that word. Is there a rule? Am I using it correctly in my examples? Thank you!