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Inversions Teorie II

Inversion involves changing the typical subject-verb order in a sentence for emphasis or after certain adverbial expressions. We use inversion after negative adverbials like "never" or "only when", with conditional sentences without "if", and to add formality. Examples of inverted sentences are provided like "Under no circumstances should you open the box" and "Only when it started raining did he give me the umbrella." Inversion occurs in the main clause after expressions like "only after" or "only if", not in the subordinate clause.

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20 views

Inversions Teorie II

Inversion involves changing the typical subject-verb order in a sentence for emphasis or after certain adverbial expressions. We use inversion after negative adverbials like "never" or "only when", with conditional sentences without "if", and to add formality. Examples of inverted sentences are provided like "Under no circumstances should you open the box" and "Only when it started raining did he give me the umbrella." Inversion occurs in the main clause after expressions like "only after" or "only if", not in the subordinate clause.

Uploaded by

IulianaLacramioara
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© © All Rights Reserved
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INVERSION

Inversion involves changing the position of the subject and auxiliary or modal verb.

We use inversion:
 When we start a sentence with a negative adverbial expression, an adverbial expression
of place, or simply an adverb
 With: "only after", "only if", "only when", etc. when placed at the beginning of a
sentence for rhetorical effect
 In conditional sentences without "if"
 To add emphasis, usually sounding more formal.
Examples
"Under no circumstances should you open the box."
(You should not open the box.)

"On the table were three old books."


(Three old books were on the table.)

"Hardly had I entered the room when the orchestra began to play."
(I had hardly entered the room when the orchestra began to play.)

"Only when it started raining did he give me the umbrella."*


(He gave me the umbrella only when it started raining.)

 the inversion occurs in the main clause after expressions such as only after, only if,
only when.
Examples
"Had I gone to university, I might have been a doctor."
(If I had gone to university, I might have been a doctor.)

"Had I not gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor."


(If I hadn’t gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor.)

"Had you gone to university, would you have been a doctor?"


(If you had gone to university, would you have been a doctor?)

 Some common negative adverbials


Never (before), Rarely, Seldom…
Under no circumstances…
Hardly, Scarcely, barely …when…
No sooner…than…
Little…
In no way…
Not only…but…
On no account…
At no time…
Examples
As soon as I arrived, the music started.
"No sooner did I arrive than the music started."

You mustn’t have the music too loud.


"On no account must you have the music too loud." *

He’d never seen anything like it before.


"Never before had he seen anything like it." *

I’d never seen the film.


"At no time had I (ever) seen the film." *

* a negative verb transforms as a positive verb when following a negative adverbial


expression.
What is an inversion with a negative adverbial?

In formal English we can place a negative or restrictive adverb at the beginning of a


sentence to make the sentence more emphatic or dramatic. When we do this, the adverb is
then followed by an inversion: auxiliary verb + subject (+ verb).

I could find my keys nowhere. ⇒ Nowhere could I find my keys.

When there is no auxiliary verb, we use do/does (present) or did (past) as auxiliary.

I understand the true meaning only now. ⇒ Only now do I understand the true meaning.
I didn’t say anything until she arrived. ⇒ Not until she arrived did I say anything.

Common adverbs used with this structure

In the table below you can see some of the most common negative or restrictive adverbials
that are sometimes used at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis.
Adverbial + clause + inversion

Note that after some adverbials, such as only if and only when we use a subordinate clause
(subject + verb), and that the inversion is never in the subordinate clause, but in the main verb
of the sentence. Check the sentence below:
Only when I sleep can I forget about the accident. (NOT: …)
The same happens with other adverbials, such as not since and not until; we use a
subordinate clause (subject + verb) and the inversion is never in the subordinate clause, but in
the main verb of the sentence. Check the sentence below:
Not since I was child have I had such a great time. (NOT: …)
If you are in doubt, it’s always useful to look at the sentence without the negative adverbial at
the beginning.
I can forget about the accident only when I sleep.
I haven’t had such a great time since I was a child.
The main subject and verb are at the beginning of the sentence, and this is the element that
must be in the inversion.

not is used followed by another element before the inversion.


Not often can we see such great expressions of art. (NOT .)

Adverbs of frequency
We can also use inversion after the negative or restrictive adverbs of frequency, such
as seldom, rarely, or never.
We often use never to talk about experiences. In that case, we normally use present perfect or
past perfect.

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