INVERSION
Inversion in 4 simple steps:
STEP 1: What does “inversion” mean?
STEP 2: Inversion with adverbials
Step 4: Test and Review
STEP 3: Inversion with condi9onals
STEP 1: What does INVERSION mean?
If you want to understand today’s grammar, you need to understand its name. If
we invert (verb) something, we change its standard order. Today’s lesson is about
the inversion (noun) of word order.
Normally sentences look like this:
1) I am tall.
2) We bought a new car.
3) Oscar was eager to impress his soccer coach because he wanted to be the star
striker for his team.
It’s clear that the subject comes before the verb. But, when can a verb come before a
subject?
In questions:
Are you tall?
Did you buy a new car?
Was Oscar eager to impress his coach?
You can see the subject and the verb have been inverted. Sometimes you need an
auxiliary verb with your main verb.
But, sometimes we can invert the subject and verb when it’s not a question. This is
where the grammar starts to become more advanced.
STEP 2: INVERSION WITH ADVERBIALS
Grammatical structure: Adverbial + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
Group 1: Rarely | Seldom
Definition: not often
Rarely do I see people reading newspapers.
Seldom do I see people reading newspapers.
You can see that a verb comes before the subject.
It’s also possible to use the standard word order:
I rarely see people reading newspapers.
I seldom see people reading newspapers.
So what’s the difference?
1)Inverted sentences are more emphatic.
2)They are used to emphasize what you are saying or writing.
3) Inverted sentences are usually formal and often only seen in literary contexts.
Be careful about using inversion too frequently in your speaking or writing. It may
sound dramatic and out of place.
Group 2: At no time | Not once
Definition: not one single time / never
My best friend Jessica and I went on a road trip. We used my car and I did all of the
driving.
At no time did she offer to pay for gas.
Not once did she offer to pay for gas.
So far we’ve already looked at four different adverbials: rarely, seldom, at no time,
not once.
These are called negative adverbials, but it doesn’t have to be a negative situation.
Not once have I had an issue with one of my neighbors.
Group 3: No sooner…than | Hardly…when | Scarcely…when |
Barely…when
Definition: an action happens immediately after another
*usually used with a past perfect & past simple combination
No sooner had I left my house than it started to rain.
Immediately after I had left my house, it started to rain.
Hardly had the students started their exam when the fire alarm went off.
Immediately after the students had started their exam, the fire alarm went off.
Scarcely had the villagers fled when the invaders arrived.
Immediately after the villagers had fled, the invaders arrived.
*This one is very formal and almost never used in spoken English.
Barely had we pitched our tent when a gust of wind blew it over.
Immediately after we had pitched our tent, a gust of wind blew it over.
Group 4: On no account | Under no circumstances
definition: one must never do this, it doesn’t matter what the
situation is
*We often use these adverbials with a modal verb.
On no account must you show anyone this letter.
Never show anyone this letter.
I told Jerry that on no account will I speak to Sandra.
I will never speak to Sandra.
*In this example, the adverbial doesn’t begin a sentence, but a clause.
Under no circumstances will you be allowed access to the company archives.
Group 5: Not only…but
Definition: in addition to
Not only can Mara speak Italian and English, but she is also learning Arabic.
In addition to speaking Italian and English, Mara is learning Arabic.
Group 6: Only then | Only later | On in + season/place
Students must not skip modules. They need to complete each module. Only
then will the next module be unlocked.
Definition: only at that time
Hm…double auxiliary verb? will + be + unlocked? This is the future simple passive.
I always thought ex-colleague Cara was a nice person. She was always helping me
with my work and even completed a lot of tasks for me. Only later did I find out that
she was in fact stealing a lot of my ideas and data.
Lemons are usually associated as being a summer fruit. But, only in winter do most
lemon trees bearfruit.
Group 7: EXCEPTIONS! Not until | Not since | Only after | Only
when
In this group, you can see the inversion happens later in the sentence. You can see
that directly after these adverbials, there is the standard word order.
Not until you sign the contract is it valid.
Not since Robin died has anyone made Marianne laugh.
Only after you graduate from university will you be able to apply for an internship
here.
Only when I’m alone can I relax.
Let’s continue with exceptions. Do you remember these
questions from earlier?
Are you tall?
Did you buy a new car?
Was Oscar eager to impress his coach?
You can see that only in sentence 2 is there an auxiliary verb.
If BE (am/are/is/was/were) is the only verb we have, an auxiliary verb is not
necessary in inversion.
Never was it so cold.
You can see that only in sentence 2 is there an auxiliary verb.
Remember, not all adverbials can begin an inverted
sentence.
Only my mom can make chocolate chip cookies the way I like them.
You cannot invert this sentence.