Unit99

198

Inversion (1)In statements it is usual for the verb to follow the subject, but sometimes this word order isreversed. We can refer to this as inversion. There are two main types of inversion: when theverb comes before the subject (inversion is often optional), and when the auxiliary comes beforethe subject and the rest of the verb phrase follows the subject (inversion is usually necessary):

o Her father stood in the doorway. ---'i> In the doorway stood her father. (or ... her fatherstood.)

o He had rarely seen such a sunset. ---'i> Rarely had he seen such a sunset. (not Rarely he hadseen ... )

Inversion brings about fronting, the re-ordering of information in a sentence to give emphasis ina particular place. Often this causes an element to be postponed until later in the sentence,focusing attention on it.

In conversation we use Here comes + noun and There goes + noun, with inversion of verb andsubject, to talk about things and people moving towards or away from the speaker:

o Here comes the bus. 0 There goes Nigel Slater, the footballer.Here comes ... is also used to say that something is going to happen soon, and There goes ... isused to talk about things (particularly money) being lost and to say that something (such as aphone or door bell) is ringing:

o Here comes lunch. 0 My bike's been stolen! There goes £100!o There goes the phone. Can you answer it?

We also put the verb before the subject when we use adverbs expressing direction of movement,such as along, away, back, down, in, off, out, up with verbs such as come, fly, go. This patternis found particularly in narrative, to mark a change in events:

o The door opened and in came the doctor. (less formally ... and the doctor came in.)o As soon as I let go of the string, up went the balloon, high into the sky. (less formally

... the balloon went up ... )o Just when I thought I'd have to walk home, along came Miguel and he gave me a lift.

(less formally ... Miguel came along and gave me ... )For more on inversion after adverbs of place and direction, see Unit 76A.

We can use clauses with inversion instead of certain kinds of if-clause (see Unit 83). Compare:

o It would be a serious setback,were the talks to fail.

o Should you need more information,please telephone our main office.

o Had Alex asked, I would have beenable to help.

o It would be a serious setback, if thetalks were to fail.

o If you should need more information,please telephone our main office.

o If Alex had asked, I would have beenable to help.

The sentences with inversion are rather more formal than those with 'if'. Notice that in negativeclauses with inversion, we don't use contracted forms:

o Had the plane not been diverted, they would have arrived early. (not Hadn't the plane ... )

In formal written language we commonly use inversion after as and than in comparisons:o The cake was excellent, as was the coffee. (or ... as the coffee was.)o I believed, as did my colleagues, that the plan would work. (or ... as my colleagues did ... )o Research shows that parents watch more television than do their children. (or ... than

their children do.)

Notice that we don't invert subject and verb after as or than when the subject is a pronoun:o We now know a lot more about the Universe than we did ten years ago. (not ... than did

we ten years ago.)

Ex~99.1

99.3

99.2

99.1

order ishen theomes before.cessary):er father

arely he had

emphasis initence,

f verb and

99.2er.: goes ... IS

such as a

100!

movement,his pattern

ie in.)ormally

ae a lift.

Compare:

ration,nce.e been

: in negative

he plane ... )

sons:

gues did ... )... than

.onoun:

... than did

Exercises Unit 99Complete the sentences with an appropriate adverb and a form of either come or go. (B)1 We'd just got to the top of the hill when .....40..~.D...~.~ .....the rain and we got thoroughly

soaked.2 Just when you've bought a computer that you think will last a lifetime, some

new software that needs an even bigger hard disk.3 Whenever I ask the class a question, their hands and they sit patiently until I

choose one of them to answer.4 I asked Dave to get three kilos of potatoes from the supermarket and he only bought one, so

....................................he to get some more.5 After I'd been waiting for an hour, the door opened and the nurse, who said the

dentist would be able to see me now.6 We'd given up hope of getting the cat out of the tree, when a man with a ladder.7 As soon as I'd given Jo some pocket money, she to buy sweets

from the shop.

Match the most likely sentence halves and then make new sentences beginning Were ....Should .... or Had... (C)1 If McGrath had not resigned as party

leader, ...2 If you do not wish to receive further

information about our products, .3 If the plane were ever to be built, .4 If United win again today, ...5 If I were to be asked to take the job, ...6 If a car had been coming in the other

direction, ...7 If there had been a referendum on the issue, ...8 If you are not able to afford the Rombus

2000, ...

a it would cut the journey time fromNew York to Tokyo by 4 hours.

b there are less expensive models in the range.c he "','QuId have been sacked.d I would have no hesitation in accepting.e he would be writing novels about the

homeless in London.f it is unlikely that the country would have

supported the government.g it will be their tenth consecutive victory.h put a tick in the box.

I might have been seriously injured.9 If Charles Dickens were alive today, .

1 + c .....tl0.4 ...M0.?r0:#.1 ....~.o.t...r.~?i:g.D~...0:S. p.0.r.ty ....~l ...n.~...l:'!9.lA,.14....h0:'{.~ ...~.~)1 ....?04.~: ....

99.3 Write new sentences using as or than + be or do. (D)

1 Compared with their counterparts 20 years ago, the highly educated now receive vastly highersalaries ......Th.~ n.~n.4i...~.~ ...~g.~....r..~v.~....'{.~s.t.lli...b..(,gb..~....s..~~? ...t.n0.:Y,1 ....c44....i;:h..~ ....<:QlA,.Y.1te.:ry.<A.Y..t.?............2.:9. !:l.~.s. c:t.9g: .

2 I was opposed to the new road being built. Everyone else in the village was opposed to it, too.I was opposed ...

3 Karen went to Oxford University. Her mother and sister went there, too.Karen went ...

4 Compared with people in developed nations, people in poorer countries consume a far smallerproportion of the earth's resources.People in poorer countries ...

5 Compared to 5 years ago, he is a much better teacher.He is ...

6 Don is a keen golfer. His wife is a keen golfer, too .Don is ...

1!

200

Inversion (2)Inversion after negative adverbialsIn formal and literary language in particular, we use negative adverbials at the beginning of aclause. The subject and first auxiliary are inverted, and do is used with a simple tense verb after -*' the time adverbials never (before), rarely, seldom; barely/hardly/scarcely ... whenlbefore; no

sooner ... than:o Seldom do we have goods returned to us because they are faulty.o Hardly had everybody taken their seats when Dr Smith began his lecture.*' only + a time expression, as in only after, only later, only if, only once, only then, only when:o She bought a newspaper and some sweets at the shop on the corner. Only later did she

realise that she'd been given the wrong change.o Only once did I go to the opera the whole time I was in Italy.o Only when she apologises will I speak to her again.*' only + other prepositional phrases beginning only by ... , only in ... , only with ... , etc.:o Only by chance had Jameson discovered where the birds were nesting.o Mary had to work in the evenings and at weekends. Only in this way was she able to

complete the report by the deadline.*' expressions such as at no time, in no way, on no account, underfin no circumstances:o At no time did they actually break the rules of the game.o Under no circumstances are passengers permitted to open the doors themselves.*' expressions with not ... , such as not only, not until, not since, not for one moment and alsonot a + noun:o Not until August did the government order an inquiry into the accident.o Not a word had she written since the exam had started.*' little with a negative meaning:o Little do they know how lucky they are to live in such a wonderful house. (= 'they don't

know' or 'they don't know sufficiently')o Little did I realise that one day Michael would become famous. (= 'I didn't realise' or 'I

didn't realise sufficiently')

Notice that inversion can occur after a clause beginning only after/if/when or not until:o Only when the famine gets worse will world governments begin to act.o Not until the train pulled into Euston Station did Jim find that his coat had gone.

Inversion after so + adjective ... that; such + be ...that; neither .../nor ...We can use so + adjective at the beginning of a clause to give special emphasis to the adjective.When we do this, the subject and first auxiliary are inverted, and do is used with a simple tenseverb. Compare:

o Her business was so successful that Marie was able to retire at the age of 50. ando So successful was her business, that Marie was able to retire at the age of 50.o The weather conditions became so dangerous that all mountain roads were closed. ando So dangerous did weather conditions become, that all mountain roads were closed.

We can use such + be at the beginning of a clause to emphasise the extent or degree ofsomething. Compare:

o Such is the popularity of the play that the theatre is likely to be full every night. ando The play is so popular that the theatre is likely to be full every night.

We use inversion after neither and nor when these words begin a clause to introduce a negativeaddition to a previous negative clause or sentence:

o For some time after the explosion Jack couldn't hear, and neither could he see.o The council never wanted the new supermarket to be built, nor did local residents.

Notice that we also use inversion in Neither/Nor do I, Neither/Nor does Kate (etc.) and in Sodo I, So does Becky (etc.).

Ext:100.1

100.2

100.:

of ab after-ore; no

ily when:id she

Exercises Unit 100100.1 Write new sentences with a similar meaning beginning with one of these words and phrases. (A)

only if barely only with -rarely- at no time little

1 A new film has not often before produced such positive reviews......~0.!.~ h~? ..~ n~ MrY1pr()40.~ ?..I!.~ p.().?..L4.'{.~r..~'{.~.?.: .

2 The public was never in any danger.3 He only felt entirely relaxed with close friends and family.4 The match won't be cancelled unless the pitch is frozen.S 1 didn't know then that Carmen and 1 would be married one day.6 He had only just entered the water when it became clear he couldn't swim.

Now do the same using these words and phrases. (A)only once only in on no account hardly not only not for one moment

You must not light the fire if you are alone in the house.There was never any competitiveness between the three brothers.1wasn't only wet through, 1was freezing cold.1had only ever climbed this high once before.The audience had only just taken their seats when the conductor stepped on to the stage.He has only been acknowledged to be a great author in the last few years.

100.2 Complete these sentences in any appropriate way. You can use the following words in youranswers. (B)

alike boring complicated dominance interest strength

Such ~? t.b..~ 0.~~?.t ..0....p.r.. ...L.9.N~.'.? to.4k that it will be held in a bigger lecture theatre.Such .. .. . that few buildings were left standing in the town.Such that he hasn't lost a match for over three years.So . that even their parents couldn't tell them apart.So . that it even took a computer three days to solve it.So . that most of the students went to sleep.

789

ile to 1011

es: 12

uid also

123

:y don't 4S

e' or 'I 6

ljective.ile tense

d. andd.

md

iegative

s.

Iin So

100.3 Correct any mistakes you find in this newspaper item. (Units 99 8: 100)

TOWN EVACUATED AS FOREST FIRES APPROACHThe people of Sawston were evacuated yesterdayas forest fires headed towards the town. Such theheat was of the oncoming inferno that trees morethan 100 metres ahead began to smoulder. Onlyonce in recent years, during 1994, a town of thissize has had to be evacuated because of forestfires. A fleet of coaches and lorries arrived in thetown in the early morning. Into these vehicles thesick and elderly climbed, before they headed offto safety across the river. Residents with cars leftby mid morning, as all non-essential policeofficers did.

Hardly the evacuation had been completed whenthe wind changed direction and it became clear thatthe fire would leave Sawston untouched. Soon afterthat were heard complaints from some residents."At no time the fires posed a real threat," said onelocal man. "I didn't want to leave my home, andnor most of my neighbours did." So upset someelderly residents are that they are threatening tocomplain to their l'v1P. But Chief Fire Officer Jonesreplied, "Hadn't we taken this action, lives wouldhave been put at risk. Only when the fires havemoved well away from the town residents will beallowed to return to their homes."

20'