これしか食べない vs これ食べるしかない


Is there any nuance difference between having しか before or after the verb? If
not, which is more commonly used/sounds more natural?

I get a feeling like これしか食べない translate to don't eat anything but this while  
これ食べるしかない translate to no choice but to eat this

but I'm not sure why this is the case grammatically.




There is a difference between the two, and your guess is spot on. As for why,
しか, much like だけ, modifies the word that comes before it (verbs, nouns, and
some particles like に、で and まで).

> これしか  
>  nothing but this

> 食べるしか  
>  nothing but eating

Which means that your translation was correct:

> これしか食べない  
>  to only eat this

> これを食べるしかない  
>  we have no choice but to eat this.




There is a difference between the two, and your guess is spot on. As for why,
しか, much like だけ, modifies the word that comes before it (verbs, nouns, and
some particles like に、で and まで).

> これしか  
>  nothing but this

> 食べるしか  
>  nothing but eating

Which means that your translation was correct:

> これしか食べない  
>  to only eat this

> これを食べるしかない  
>  we have no choice but to eat this.

