Advanced structures
1. Emphasis with Inversion
2. Cleft sentences
3. Participial clauses
[Link] clauses
5. Comparative structures
1. Emphasis with Inversion (1)
This is when we use inverted word order AUXILIARY VERB +
SUBJECT (generally characteristic of questions) in affirmative
sentences to make them sound more emphatic.
You can use inversion after certain 'negative' expression at the
beginning of the sentence:
never / rarely / seldom / never before /
not until / not since / not for one minute / not even once / at no time
on no account / under no circumstances/ in no way / on no occasion
only when / only if / only in this way / only then / only after
little
not only ... but also
scarcely / hardly / barely ...when
no sooner ....than
1. Emphasis with Inversion (2)
Here are some example sentences with inversion:
Never before had I seen such a professional performance.
Not until it was too late did they see the sign.
Under no circumstances should you let children play with
fire.
Little did he realise that he was being watched.
Scarcely had she got home when the phone rang.
Find more examples on [Link]
bnc/
1. Emphasis with Inversion (3)
You can also use inversion in conditional sentences, which is very
common in formal pieces of writing such as a letter of complaint or
apology. What we do is omit 'if' and change the places of the subject
and the predicate.
1st C Should I receive no satisfaction, I will be forced to take matters a step
further.
INSTEAD OF: If I don’t receive any satisfaction, I will be forced…
2nd CWere I to move abroad, I would live in Australia
INSTEAD OF: If I had to move abroad/moved abroad, I would live in…
3rd C Had he known, he would have made arrangements to arrive earlier.
INSTEAD OF: If he had known, he would have made arrangements…
EXERCISE!
2. Cleft sentences
These are certain structures that help us emphasise a particular part of a sentence.
IT IS / WAS + SUBJECT / OBJECT + [THAT / WHO …]
It is the principal who is responsible for the school budget.
It is for the school budget that the principal is responsible.
WHAT + SUBJECT + VERB + INFINITIVE
What we need is to address the road congestion issue.
ALL / THE LAST THING + SUBJECT + VERB + IS / WAS
The last thing people want is an all-out war.
All people wanted was peace
WRITE EXAMPLES! EXERCISE!
3. Participial clauses
They may be used for the following reasons:
to link two events in time
Opening the door, I saw ... (= when I opened the door…)
to provide a reason
Being the richest of us, she paid the bill (= because she was the richest…)
instead of a conditional construction.
Eaten in small quantities, chocolate is good for our health (= if you eat it in small quantities…)
WRITE EXAMPLES!
4. Relative clauses
Be sure you know how to use both identifying and non-identifying relative
clauses.
The person to whom the letter is addressed lives in Moscow. (identying/defining
R.C.)
The roads in the inner city are heavily congested, which is why it may take hours
to get to your workplace.
(non-identifying/non-defining R.C.)
Do you know how to distinguish them?
EXERCISE!
5. Comparative Structures (Double
Comparatives / All the More)
The more absurd it appeared, the more appealing it became.
=It became increasingly appealing.
The lack of any programme for changing the industry is all the
more striking given the obstacles that the likes of John Davis
persistently put in their way.
All the more striking= particularly striking
WRITE EXAMPLES!
What to do with this information
Come up with 3 examples for each of the 5 types of
advanced structures.
Review these structures occasionally and especially
the day before SLP exams to have them in the back
of your mind.
Try to incorporate structures like these in your
writing. You can find examples in the corpus of the
BYU.
fin