INVERSION
We use inversion in several different situations in English. Inversion just means putting
the verb before the subject. We usually do it in question forms:
• Normal sentence: You are tired. (The subject is 'you'. It's before the verb 'are'.)
• Question form: Are you tired? (The verb 'are' is before the subject 'you'. They
have changed places. This is called inversion.)
But we also sometimes use inversion in other cases, when we are not making a
question.
When we use a NEGATIVE ADVERB or ADVERB PHRASE at the beginning of the
sentence.
Usually, we put the expression at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize what
we're saying. It makes our sentence sound surprising or striking or unusual. It also
sounds quite formal. If you don't want to give this impression, you can put the negative
expression later in the sentence in the normal way:
• Seldom have I seen such beautiful work.
('Seldom' is at the beginning, so we use inversion. This sentence emphasizes
what beautiful work it is.)
• I have seldom seen such beautiful work.
('Seldom' is in the normal place, so we don't use inversion. This is a normal
sentence with no special emphasis.)
Here are some negative adverbs and adverb phrases that we often use with inversion:
Hardly Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.
Never Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.
Seldom Seldom do we see such an amazing display of dance.
Rarely Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.
Only then Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.
Not only ... but Not only does he love chocolate and sweets but he also smokes.
No sooner No sooner had we arrived home than the police rang the doorbell.
Scarcely had I got off the bus when it crashed into the back of a
Scarcely
car.
Only later Only later did she really think about the situation.
Nowhere Nowhere have I ever had such bad service.
Little Little did he know!
Only in this
Only in this way could John earn enough money to survive.
way
In no way In no way do I agree with what you're saying.
In the following expressions, the inversion comes in the second part of the sentence:
Not until Not until I saw John with my own eyes did I really believe he
was safe.
Not since Not since Lucy left college had she had such a wonderful time.
Only after I'd seen her flat did I understand why she wanted to
Only after
live there.
Only when Only when we'd all arrived home did I feel calm.
Only by Only by working extremely hard could we afford to eat.
We only use inversion when the adverb modifies the whole phrase and not when it
modifies the noun: Hardly anyone passed the exam. (No inversion.)
We can use inversion instead of 'if' in conditionals with 'had' 'were' and 'should'.
This is quite formal:
• Normal conditional: If I had been there, this problem wouldn't have happened.
Conditional with inversion: Had I been there, this problem wouldn't have
happened.
• Normal conditional: If we were richer, we could afford that flat.
Conditional with inversion: Were we richer, we could afford that flat.
We can use inversion if we put an adverbial expression of place at the beginning
on the sentence. This is also quite formal or literary:
• On the table was all the money we had lost.
(Normal sentence: All the money we had lost was on the table.)
• Round the corner came the knights.
(Normal sentence: The knights came round the corner.)
We can use inversion after 'so + adjective...that':
• So beautiful was the girl that nobody could talk of anything else.
(Normal sentence: the girl was so beautiful that nobody could talk of anything
else.)
• So delicious was the food that we ate every last bite.
(Normal sentence: the food was so delicious that we ate every last bite.)
Change the sentences so that they use inversion.
1. We had hardly arrived when Julie burst into the house
2. John had never been to such a fantastic restaurant.
3. I in no way want to be associated with this project.
4. They had no sooner eaten dinner than the ceiling crashed onto the dining
table.
5. I had scarcely finished writing my essay when the examiner announced
the end of the exam.
6. I seldom leave my house so early.
7. People rarely appreciate this musician’s talent.
8. We would understand what had happened that night only later.
9. They had met such rude people nowhere before.
10. He understood little about the situation.
11. The children should on no account go on their own.
