Inversion with Negative Adverbials
Inversion involves moving the negative word or phrase to the beginning of a sentence for emphasis.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how inversion works and practise using them.
How to use inversions?
Usage
- Used to emphasise information in a sentence.
Structure
- Move the negative adverbial or phrase to the beginning of the sentence then swap the subject and auxiliary verb.
- If no auxiliary verb, use do/does/did in the inversion.
For Example
- Hardly had she finished when the boss arrived.
- No sooner had she arrived than the film started.
- Not only did he get a new office, but he got more money too!
Examples
Never have I felt so nervous.
Only when I went to Italy did I realise how much I liked art.
Rarely have we time to just sit and relax.
Practise
Rewrite the sentences using inversion.
Common mistakes learners make
- Forgetting to invert the subject and auxiliary verb
- Using inversion in the wrong place (only after negative adverbial)
Common mistakes learners make
- Forgetting to invert the subject and auxiliary verb
- Using inversion in the wrong place (only after negative adverbial)