inversion and fronting inversion This involves using question word order after an adverbial with a negative or restrictive meaning ‘comes at the beginning of the sentence. These structures are normally only used in formal speech and writing. Note that all of these adverbials can be used without inversion if they come in the normal position, © never ‘have never seen a more obwious case of cheating! (normal position) ‘Never have | seen a mare abvious case of cheating! © rarely Rarely does such a rare painting came on the market © seldom Seldom has a scientifie discovery had such an impact @ No sooner... than No sooner had I shut the doar than | realized | had left my keys inside © Hardly... when Hardly had the play started when there was a disturbance in the auelience @ Scarcely .. when (than) Searcely had they entered the castle when there was 2 huge explosion © Only after, anly when, only later, only then, only Only Jane managed (0 finish the project on time (0 inwersian) Only in a city as large as this can you find so many foreign restaurants. Only after we had left the ship did we realize that the captain had remained, © Onno condition, under no circumstances, on no account, at no time, inno way Under no circumstances is this door to he left unlocked © Not until ‘Not until he stopped to rest did Jack realize that he had been wounded. ‘Not until the building had been made safe could anyone go back inside © Not only... but also Not only did he lose al! the money, but he also found himself in debt © Little Little did anyone suspect what was about to happen, ‘No sooner had I shut the door than I reatized T had left my keys inside.fronting This involves putting first a clause not normally at the beginning of the sentence. It may also involve putting the verb in an inverted position. ‘© Relative clauses can be placed first when they normally follow negative verbs of understanding, knowing, etc. This is normally a spoken form. T have no idea wino he is. Who he Is have no ide. | really don't know what you mean. What you mean, {really don't know. © Here, there, back, out, up, down, on, offetc can begin a sentence or a clause, followed by a verb, This is usually come or go. The sentence is often an exclamation. ‘A messenger came back with the ansvier. Back came a messenger with the answer, Here comes the rain! Out went the lights! own went the shin to the bottom of the sea. ‘AS we were walking home, down came the rain, and we had to run fort. ‘© In the same way, an adverbial phrase can begin a sentence or a clause, followed by a verb. This kind of sentence is common in literary writing ‘A group of armed men came along the street ‘Along the street came a group of armed men. While we were waiting to see whot would happen next along the street came a group of armed men, waving their guns in the air and shouting, Up the hill went the bus, creaking and groaning Through the window jumped a masked man, © as, though with may, might ‘Iemay sound unlikely, but it's true. Unlikely as it may sound, its tue, The car may be cheap, but it's in terrible condition, Cheap though the car may be, i's in terrible condition. © tryas (someone) might ‘This construction is used to mean that although someone tried hard, they couldn't succeed in what ‘they were trying to do. She tried hard, but couldn't move the wardrobe. Try as she might, she couldn't move the wardrobe, Try as he might, he couldn't pass his driving test. © were, had, should conditional sentences ‘These are highly formal, and omit if, putting the auxiliary at the beginning of the sentence. If the government were to resign, the situation might be resolved. Were the government to resign, the situation might be resolved. If proper measures hed been taken, ths situation would not have occurred Had proper measures been taken, this situation would not have occured. Ikan outbreak of fu should take place, special measures willbe introduced ‘Should an outbreak of flu take place, special measures wall be introluced. @ inversion and fronting‘1 Underline the best word or phrase. ‘a Not only / Rarely do you sce top-rate cameras which are also easy to use. bb Should / Were the strike go ahead, it could severely damage the company. ¢ Never I have seen / Never have I seen such a dramatic end to a football snatch, What he is talking about / Whar ts he talking about, (have no idea. © Only the two members of the French team managed / did they manage to finish the race. f Asit may seem strange / Strange as it may seem, he is actually one of the richest men in the world! 9 lardly had the train pulled out of the station when / than there was a loud screeching sound, fh Suddenly, ran into the room / into the room ran a huge dog. i Had we known / Had we to have known in advance, we could have done something about it, J Not unull the wreckage had been examined could / was terrorism be ruled out. ke Hardly / Little did 1 knoww that it would he another three years before I saw her again. {Should / Were the alarm to ring, leave the building immediately. 2. Choose the best option, A, B or C, to complete the sentence. aC... how serious the situation was. bb Just as the players took their places on the court, « my bag I really can‘t remember. everyone would probably have escaped from the building. @ Ato time... om the plane in any danger. 1 second thoughts, don’t hesitate to phone me. g Strange, Tactually enjoy working underground, fh Jane... the train but alse lost her luggage. i » we might consider making another offer J Without warning, onto the stage. brandishing a knife, k Suddenly the sky went dark, and... the rain, ! ss this piece of equipment to be removed ftom the building. a A Little anyone did realize 1 Little realized anyone € Little did anyone reatize b A did the rain pour down B down poured the rain. did pour down the rain © A Where I've left B Where have I let € Where bet T dA Had it not beer lucked the fre door B Had not been lucked Uke fire dour C Had the fire dour mot been lockeit © A were the passengers B the passengers were ‘Cwere they the passengers fA Should have you B Should you have Should you had 9g Aas does it sound B sound thought itis Cas it may sound hy A not only did she miss B not only mnissedd Cot only did miss iA Were it the situation to change B Were a change in the situation © Were the situation to change J Add jump a man 8 jumped a man Cid « man jump ke A there down came Beame down C down came ' A.On Ho account 8 Hartly C Rarely3. Write a new sentence with the same meaning, containing the word in capitals. a IEwe took no action, the situation would only become worse. Were. ue. +0 take. no.acction, the. Situation would.only become. worse. b A member of the government rarely admits to making a serious mistake. € Youre not to leave this room under any circumstances. The police only later revealed the true identity of the thief. © Although Andrew tried hard, he couldn’t pass his driving test. { Ityou'd consulted me at the outset, | could have given you the right advice g Ifyou offered me a higher salary, I would take the job. hh If the weather worsens, the match will probably be cancelled, i Ttwas only after checking the accounts that they realized money was missing, J The breach of security has not affected the examination results in any way. 4 Complete the text using one word in each gap. Last year; we visited Brazil and saw the carnival in Rio. Strange asitmay a 846M, we just hadn't thouaht of visiting Brazil before, and we couldn’t believe how fantastic it was, Rio Isa ereat city, and it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s real! We really enjoyed the carnival. We had booked some events before we arrived, and 5 id wo realize how lucky we were to have tickets for the Samba show. No c had we taken our seats, than the show began. d the stage came groups of dancers, one after the other, for hours! That was exhausting but there was more to come. Not e ‘we stood and watched the carnival parade did we realize how many people were taking part! Along the street dancers and musicians, and everyone clapped and cheered. g anyone told me I would end up dancing in the street all night, { wouldn't have believed them! There were such amazing costumes and floats, h ina City as diverse as this, could you see so many unusual sights. Never i have imagined what an amazing sight it would be, Only \we finally got home and looked at all our photos k we realize how incredible our holiday in Brazil had been.t anyone should want to go any where else for a holiday, 1 really don’t know WERE DOES NO DID MIGHT HAD WERE SHOULD DID NO @ inversion and fronting5 Complete the sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence. ‘2 Two armed policeman ran into the room. Into +he..noom.nan +10 anwed policemen. b You can only really enjoy the view on a clear day like today. Only - = If the ship collided with an iceberg, the passengers would be in no danger. Should The case may be unusual, but such cases are not completely unheard of. Unusual © Suddenly it started raining. Suddenly down fA government has rarely acted with such blatant dishonesty. Rarely Ifyou asked me again, I would give you the same answer as before, Were h Ihave no idea what the matter is What i. If we had realized that the hurricane would hit the city, we would have evacuated the residents in advance. Had < j. Nobody had any suspicion that the police inspector was the murderer. Little k The theit was only discovered when the accounts were checked. Only 1 Paula had no sooner shut the door than she realized she No sooner ad left her key inside. 6 Putone suitable word in each space. Rarely do. ‘we find students who are willing to think for themselves. b in the polar regions does the temperature fall to such a low level. © Little anyone suppose that Mrs Robertson was an enemy agent. dSearcely everyone left the building when there was a huge explosion. Seldom so many people voted for such an unlikely candidate. £ Not until doctors examined Brian later anyone realize that he had been shot. 9 No sooner had we reached the bottom of the mountain it started snowing heavily. h no circumstances are bags to be taken into the library. i the airline official checked again did she realize I had been given the ticket J Not only did Harrison break into the house, he also attacked one of the occupants. k Never there been a better time to buy a new car. 1 Not only she finish the test before the others in the class, but she also got the best mark.