inversion and fronting

inversion
This involves using question word order after an adverbial wit h a negative or restrictive meaning
comes at the beginning of the sentence. These structures are normally only used in formai speech and
writing. Note that all of these adverbials can be used without inversion if they come in the normai
position.
• never
I have never seen a more obvious case of cheating! (normai position)
Never have I seen a more obvious case of cheating!

• rarely
Rarely does such a rare painting come on the market.
• seldom
Seldom has a scientific discovery had such an impact.
• No sooner ... than
No sooner had I shut the door than I realized I had left my keys inside.

• Hardly ... when

Hardly had the play started when there was a disturbance in the audience.

• Scarcely ... when (than)

Scarcely had they entered the cast/e when there was a huge explosion.

• Onlyafter, only when, only later, only then, only

Only Jane managed to finish the project on time. (no inversion)
Only in a city as large as this can you find sa many foreign resta uran ts.
On/y after we had /eft the ship did we realize that the captain had remained.

• On no condition, under no circumstances, on no account, at no time, in no way

Under no circumstances is this door to be 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 co u/d anyone go back inside.

• Not only ... but also

Not only did he Jose alI the money, but he a/so found himself in debt.
• Little
Little did anyone suspect what was about to happen.

c:::J

J
O

Oc::=>

I shut the door than I realized I had lef/; my keys inside.

e No sooner had
fronting
This involves putting first a clause not normally at the beginning of the sentence. It mayaiso involve
putting the verb in an inverted position.
• Relative clausescan be placed first when they normally follow negative verbs of understanding,
knowing, etc. This is normally a spoken form.
I have no idea who he iso Who he is, I have no idea.
I really don 't know what you mean. What you mean, I really don 't know

• Here, there, back, out, up, down, on, oft etc can begin a sentence or a clause, foliowed by averb.
This is usually come or go. The sentence is often an exclamation.
A messenger came back with the answer. Back came a messenger with the answer.
Here comes the rain! Out went the lights!
Down went the ship to the bottom of the sea.
As we were walking home, down came the rain, and we had to run for it.

• In the same way, an adverbia I phrase can begin a sentence or a c1ause,folIowed 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 what 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.

conditional sentences
• as, though with may, might
It may sound unlikely, but it's true.
Un/ikely as it may sound, it's true
The car may be cheap, but it's in terrible condition.
Cheap though the car may be, it'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, ha d, should conditional sentences

These are highly forma!, 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 had been taken, this situation would not have occurred.
Had proper measures been taken, this situation would not have occurred.
If an outbreak of fiu should take place, special measures will be introduced..
Should an outbreak of fIu take place, special measures will be introduced.
1 Underline the best word ar phrase.

a Not only / Rarely do you see top-rate cameras which are also easy to use.
b Should / Were the strike go ahead, it could severely damage the company.
c Never I have seen / Never have I seen su ch a dramatic end to a football match.
d What he is talking about / What is he talking about, I have no idea.
e Gnly the two members of the French team managed / did they manage to finish the race.
t As it may seem strange /Strange as it may seem, he is actually one of the richest men in the world!
g Hardly had the train pulled out of the station when / than there was a loud screeching sound.
h Suddenly, ran into the room / into the room ran a huge dog.
Had we known / Had we to have known in advance, we could have done something about it.
j Not until the wreckage had been examined could / was terrorism be ruled out.
k Hardly / Little did I know that it would be another three years before I saw her again.
I Should / Were the alarm to ring, leave the building immediately.

2 Choose the best option, A, B ar C, to complete the sentence.

a c:: how serious the situation was.

b Just as the players took their place s on the court, ..
c my bag I really can't remember.
d , everyone would probably have escaped from the building.
e At no time on the pIane in any danger.
t second thoughts, don't hesitate to phone me.
g Strange , I actually enjoy working underground.
h Jane the train but aIso lost her luggage.
, we might consider making another offer.
j Without warning, onto the stage brandishing a knife.
k Suddenly the sky went dark, and the rain.
I is this piece of equipment to be removed from the building.

a A Little anyone did realize B Little realized anyone C Little did anyone realize
b A did the rain pour down B down poured the rain. C did pour down the rain
c A Where I've left B Where have I left C Where left I
d A Had it not been locked the fire door B Had not been locked the fire door C Had the fire door not been locked
e A were the passengers B the passengers were C were they the passengers
t A Should have you B Should you have C Should you had
g A as does it sound B sound though it is C as it may sound
h A not only did she miss B not only missed C not only did miss
A Were it the situation to change B Were a change in the situation C Were the situation to change
j A did jump a man B jumped a man C did a man jump
k A there down came B came down C down came
I A On no account B Hardly C Rarely
3 Write a new sentence with the same meaning, containing the word in capitals.

a If we took no action, the situation would only become worse. WERE

/A,le.re.,we.,
...lo.lekecl'\.o?lc,liQl'1.,lhe.,Hsil?leliol'1.wouIJQl'1.I'1Qe.,c.ol'1,l.e.,woCSe., ,
b A member of the government rareIy admits to making a serious mistake. DOES

c You are not to Ieave this IDom under any circumstances. NO

d The police only Iater reveaIed the true identity of the thief. DID

e AIthough Andrew tried hard, he couldn't pass his driving test. MIGHT

f If you'd consulted me at the outset, I could have given you the right advice. HAD

g If you offered me a high er salary, I would take the job. WERE

h If the weather worsens, the match will probabIy be cancelled. SHOULD

It was only after checking the accounts that they realized money was missing. DID

The breach of security has not affected the examination results in any way. NO

4 Complete the text using one word in each gap.

Last yeat; we visited Brazil and saw the carnival in Rio. Strange
as it may aS~~t:'A. H ' we just hadn't thought of visiting Brazil
before, and we couldn't believe how fantastic it was. Rio is a great
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
b.. ... did we 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 othet; for hours! That was exhausting but there was
more to come. N ot e ..H we stood and watched the carnival

parade did we realize how many people were taking part! Along
the street f .. .HH dancers and musicians, and everyone
clapped and cheered. g anyone told me I would end
up dancing in the street ali night, I wouldn't have believed them!
There were such amazing costumes and floats. h .. ..H in a
city as diverse as this, could you see 50 many unusual sights. Never
HHHHHHHHH
I have imagined what an amazing sight it would be.
Only j .. . we finally got home and looked at ali our photos
k HHwe realize how incredible our holiday in Brazil had
been.I.HHHH anyone should want to go any where else for a
holiday, I really don't know!
 5 Complete the sentence sa that it means the same as the first sentence.

a Twa armed policeman ran in to the room.

In tolJ1,e, ..rQQf)Ana~lwQ.a~~dpQIic,e,f)Ae,l'l.
b You can only really enjoy the view on a elear day like today.
Oniy ..
c If the ship collided with an iceberg, the passengers would be in no danger.
Should ..
d The case may be unusual, but such cases are not completely unheard of.
Unusual ..
e Suddenly it started raining.
Suddenly down ..
f A govemment has rarely acted with such blat ant dishonesty.
Rarely ..
g If you asked me again, I would give you the same answer as before.
Were ..
h I have no idea what the matter iso
What ..
If we had realized that the hurricane would hit the city, we would have evacuated the
residents in advance.
Had ..
Nobody had any suspicion that the police inspector was the murderer.
Little ..
k The theft was only discovered when the accounts were checked.
Oniy ..
Paula had no sooner shut the door than she realized she had left her key inside.
No saoner ..

6 Put one suitable word in each space.

a Rarely ..clq we find students who are willing to think for themselves.
b in the polar regions does the temperature fall to such a low level.
eLittle .. anyone suppose that Mrs Robertson was an enemy agent.
d Scarcely.. . everyone left the building when there was a huge explosion.
e Seldom.. . so many people voted for such an unlikely candidate.
f Not until doctors examined Brian later ...... ..anyone realize that he had been shot.
g No sooner had we reached the bottom of the mountain .... it starte d snowing
heavily.
h ... no circumstances are bags to be taken into the libr ary.
Oniy.... the airline official checked again did she realize I had been given the
wrong ticket.
Not only did Harrison break into the house, .. he aIso attacked one of the
occupants.
k Never there be en a better time to buy a new car.
I Not oniy she finish the test before the others in the elass, but she also got the
best marko

G
7 Choose the best option, A, B or C, for each gap.

Odysseus and the Sirens

Before the ship came to the island of the Sirens, Odysseus ordered his men to plug their ears
with wax and tie him to the mast. 'Under no circumstances a J3HH cut me free, whatever
happens; he told them. b' we are elear of the island must I be set free: CH he did
this was very simple. The Sirens lured sailors to their deaths by their beautiful singing.
d all the sailors to hear their songs, they would lose their will to continue on their
journey. Odysseus wanted to hear the beautiful singing, but he wanted to survive. Soon e .H'

appeared the island of the Sirens. The women were sitting on a bank of flowers, holding out
their arms to the ship, and singing. No sooner f them, than Odysseus became mad with
longing. g not been tied to the mast, he would have leapt into the water and swum to
the shore. h he might, he couldn't persuade his men to untie him. Past the island
i , the crew pulling at the oars. j the singing of the Sirens had died away, and the
island had passed out of sight, did Odysseus regain his proper senses. His men untied him,
and they continued on their voyage.

a Ayou will B are you to C do you

b A Only after B Not only C Never
C A Little B T7yas CWhy
d A Were Blf C Should
e A than he had expected B had it C out of the mist
f A he heard B had he heard C was he hearing them
9 A Was he B Did he CHad he
h A Try as Blf C Only after
A did they went B went the ship C go Odysseus and his men
A Not until Bln no way C No sooner than

. '.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
V\
A Write some examples beginning: ~
OJ
Were my country... Should global warming ... Had I known ... >
C
B Choose ten examples from the explanation pages and translate them into your language.