INVERTED FORMS
1. Under no circumstances – something should never happen or be done
Under no circumstances + auxiliary + subject + verb
Normal: You must not open the door.
Inversion: Under no circumstances must you open the door.
2. No sooner...than - Used to show one event happened immediately after another.
No sooner + had + subject + past participle + than + clause
Normal: I had finished eating when the phone rang.
Inversion: No sooner had I finished eating than the phone rang.
3. Barely / Hardly / Scarcely - These also show two events happening close together.
They take a similar structure.
Barely/Hardly/Scarcely + had + subject + past participle + when + clause
Normal: I had sat down when the show started.
Inversion: Hardly had I sat down when the show started.
5. Not only... but (also) - Used for emphasis or surprise.
Structure - Not only + auxiliary + subject + verb + but (also) + clause
Normal: She sings well and she also plays the piano.
Inversion: Not only does she sing well, but she also plays the piano.
6. Only when ….means “not until the moment that…” It introduces a condition that
must happen first before something else can happen.
Only when + clause + auxiliary + subject + main verb
The lights came on when I pressed the switch.
Inversion: Only when I pressed the switch did the lights come on.
Normal Inverted Structure (after Example (Normal →
Expression
Structure fronting) Inverted)
He speaks English and he
Not only + Not only + auxiliary +
Not only … but speaks French. → Not only
clause, but also subject + verb, but also +
also does he speak English,
+ clause clause
but he also speaks French.
I understood it when he
Clause + main Only when + clause + explained it. → Only when
Only when
clause auxiliary + subject + verb he explained it did I
understand it.
He had finished the test
Subject + had + No sooner + had +
No sooner … and he left. → No sooner
past participle subject + past participle
than had he finished the test
+ than + clause + than + clause
than he left.
Subject + had + Hardly/Barely/Scarcely + They had arrived when it
Hardly / Barely
past participle had + subject + past started raining. → Hardly
/ Scarcely …
+ when/before participle + when/before had they arrived when it
when/before
+ clause + clause started raining.
Normal Inverted Structure (after Example (Normal →
Expression
Structure fronting) Inverted)
You should touch the wires.
Under no circumstances
Under no Subject + verb → Under no
+ auxiliary + subject +
circumstances phrase circumstances should
verb
you touch the wires.
Practice Exercises
A. Rewrite the sentences using inversion
1. You should never reveal your password to anyone.
2. I had just left the house when it started raining.
3. We rarely get the opportunity to travel abroad.
4. She had barely arrived when the manager called her.
5. He didn’t just win the race; he broke the record as well.
6. She burst into tears when she closed the door.
B. Complete the sentences with the correct form
6. Under no circumstances ______ (you/enter) the building without permission.
7. Hardly ______ (I/sit down) when the lights went out.
8. No sooner ______ (they/finish) the meal than the waiter brought the bill.
9. Rarely ______ (the team/perform) so brilliantly.
[Link] only ______ (he/help) me, but he also paid for everything.
C. Create your own sentence
Use each phrase in an original sentence:
[Link] no circumstances
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] sooner
[Link] only… but also…