Inversion Inversion can be used to form questions and conditional sentences, but it can also be used for emphasis Examples: • Little did she know how much work was left •On no account must you sleep at school •Never should you forget who your boss is •Only then can you belong to me •Here comes the sun Note: The structure is rarely used in spoken English Most often, you will find it in books Negative Adverbials We're going to have a look at inversion that sometimes takes place with certain adverbs and adverb phrases, mostly with a negative or restrictive sense Such adverbs (adverb phrases) can be placed first in a sentence or clause for emphasis They are then followed by the interrogative (i.e inverted ) form of the verb Time expressions: never, rarely, seldom These time expressions are used with a perfect form or with modals and often include comparatives: Examples: Never have I been more insulted! Seldom has he seen anything stranger Time expressions: hardly, barely, no sooner, or scarcely These time expressions are used when a there are a succession of events in the past Examples: Scarcely had I got out of bed when the doorbell rang No sooner had he finished dinner, when she walked in the door After 'Only' Expressions such as 'only after', 'only when', 'only then', etc 'Only' is used with a time expression Examples: Only then did I understand the problem Only after understanding the situation does the teacher make a comment After 'Little' 'Little' is used in a negative sense Examples: Little did he understand the situation Little have I read about nanotechnology Also note that a second negative verb in a sentence can sometimes be expressed by nor with inversion: She had no friends and didn't know anyone who could help her = She had no friends, nor did she know anyone who could help her Turn the following into inverted sentences The matter could be explained in no other way In We had hardly started when it began to rain Hardly I have seldom heard such beautiful singing Seldom I shall never forget your kindness Never I saw only then the danger we were in Only We had no sooner left the house than it exploded No He didn't realize that he had lost the key till he got home Not They not only robbed you, they smashed everything Not Half a dozen apples fell down Dow n 10 If an emergency should arise, dial 999 Should 11 If Rex were a little more hardworking, he would not have failed 12 If Mr Chan had been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed Answers: In no other way could the matter be explained Hardly had we started when it began to rain Seldom have I heard such beautiful singing Never shall I forget your kindness Only then did I see the danger we were in No sooner had we left the house than it exploded Not till he got home did he realize that he had lost the key Not only did they rob you, they smashed everything Down fell half a dozen apples 10 Should an emergency arise, dial 999 11 Were Rex a little more hardworking, he would not have failed 12 Had Mr Chan been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed