inversion and fronting inversion This involves using question ward 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 obvious case of cheating! (normal 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 | realized | hed left my keys inside © Hardly ... when Hardly had the play started when there was a disturbance i the audience. © Scarcely... when (than) Searcely had they entered the castle when there was a huge explownn (© Only after, only when, only later, only then, only Only Jane managed to finish the prcyect an time (na inversion) Only in a city as large as this can you find sa many fareign restaurants Only after we had left the ship did we realize that the captain had remained. ‘© On no condition, under no circumstances, on no account, at no time, inno way Under no circumstances is this door to be left unlocked © Not unti! ‘Not until he stopped to rest cd 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 all the money, but he also found himselt in debt. © lide Little did anyone suspect what was about to happen ‘No sooner had I shut the door than I realized I had left my keys inside.fronting “This involves putting first a cause 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, knowdng, etc. This Is normally a spoken form. have no idea who he is. Who he is, | have no idea. I really don’t know what you mean, What you mean, ! realy don’t know. © Here, there, back, out, up, down, on, off etc 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 camo back with the answec 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, clown came the rain, and we had to run for it. © In the same way, an adverblal phrase can begin a sentence or @ clause, followed by a verb. This kind of sentence Is common In Iterary writing, ‘A group of armed men came afong the street. ‘Along the street came a group of armed men. While we were walting to See what would happen next, along the street came 2 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 Itmay sound unlikely, but it's true. Unlikely as it may sound, it's true. The car may be cheap, but it’s in terrible condition. Cheap though the car may be, i( in terrible condition, © try as (someone) inight This construction is used to mean that although sumeune tried hard, they couldn't succeed in what they were trying to do, ‘She tied hard, but couldh't ave the werdrobe. 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. 1 the government were to resign, the situation might be resolved. Were the government to resign, the situation might be resolved. 11 proper measures had been taken, this situation would not have occurred. Had proper measures been taken, this situation would not have occurred. tan outbresk of flu should take place, special measures willbe introduced. Should an outbreak of flu take place, special measures wil be introduced. ing inversion and fronti‘1 Underline the best word or phrase. Not only / Bately do you see top-rate cameras which are also easy to use. Should / Were the strike go ahead, it could severely damage the company. Never I have seen / Never huve I seen such a dramatic end to a football mate What he is talking about / What is he talking about, ! have no idea. Only the two members of the French team managed / did they manage to finish the race. As it may seem steange / Strange as it may seem, he is actually one of the richest men in the world! Hardly had the train pulled out of the station wien / than there was a loud screeching sound. zareance Suddenly, rut into the 100m / intu the rovmn run a huge dog. Hail we known / Had we fo have known In advance, we could have done something about It. Not until the wreckage had been examined could / was terrorism be ruled out, Hardly / Little did Tknow that It woutd be another three years before | saw her again. Should / Were \he alarm to ring, leave the building immediately. 2. Choose the best option, A, B or C, to complete the sentence. a... how serious the situation was. b Just as the players took their places on the court, < my bag I really can’t remember. d ...., everyone would probably have escaped from the building. fe Atnotime.......on the plane in any danger. f second thoughts, don’t hesitate to phone me. g Strange, Tactually enjoy working underground. h i i k 1 Jane the train but also lost her luggage. wun) WE might consider making another offer. Without warning, onto the stage. brandishing a knife, Suddenly the sky went dark, and... the rain, is this piece of equipment ta he removed from the building. a Alittle anyone did realize B Little realized anyone Little did anyone realize b A did the rain pour down B down poured the rain. € did pour down the raitt ¢ AWheve I've left B Where have I left € Where left I dA Had it not been locked the fire door & Had not been locket! the fire door Haul the fire door not been locked © Awere the passengers B the passengers were C were they the passengers fA Should have you 8 Should you have € Should you had g Aas does it sound B sound though it is Cas it may sound hh Aniot only did she miss B not only missed C not only did aniss iA Were it the situation to change 8 Were a change in the situation Were the situation to change J Adid jmp aman 8 jumped a man € did a man jump kA there down came B came down ¢ down came 1 A On ni account 8 Hardly Rarely3. Write a new sentence with the same meaning, containing the word in capitals. If we took no action, the situation would only become worse. Were, we. +o,take. no accion, the, Situation [Link] become, worse. A member of the government rarely admits to making a serlous mistake. You are 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. It you'd consulted me at the outset, | could have given you the right advice. If you offered me a higher salary, | would take the job. If the weather worsens, the match will probably be cancelled. Iwas only after checking the accounts that they realized money was missing. ‘The breach of security has not affected the exarnination results in any way. 4 Complete the text using one word in each gap. Last year, we visited Lrazil and saw the carnival in Rio, Strange asilmaya S€€M —, we just hadn’l 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 enoyed 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 ¢ had we taken our seats, than the show began. d the stage came groups of dancers, ‘one after the other, for hours! That was extiaustina 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 f dancers and musicians, and everyone clapped and cheered. g anyone told me I would end ‘up dancing in the street all night, I 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 j ‘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 90 any where else for a holiday, 1 really don’t know! WERE DOES DID MIGHT uaD WERE. SHOULD DID NO @ inversion and fronting5 Complete the sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence. ‘@ Two armed policeman ran into the room. Into -[Link],fan. tio anwed policemen. b You can only really enjoy the view on a clear day like today. Only a = en € Ifthe ship collided with an iceberg, the passengers would be in no danger. Should oe <5 The case may be unusual, but such cases are not completely unheard of. Unusual ___. — © Suddenly it started caining, Suddenly down ~ = —_ fA government has rarely acted with such blatant dishonesty. Rarely... 2 i g Ifyou asked me again, 1 would give you the same answer as before. Were fh have no idea what the matter What z i If we had realized that the hurricane would hit the city, we would have evacuated the residents in advance, Had ——_—_—— — —_ — a j Nobody had any suspicion that the police inspector was the murderer. Little vs k The theft was only discovered when the accounts were checked. Only 2 1 Paula had no sooner shut the door than she realized she had left her key inside. No sooner 6 Put one suitable word in each space. a Rarely dO... men We find students who are willing to think for themselves. b In the polar reglons does the temperature fall to such a low level. « Little anyone suppose that Mrs Robertson was an enemy agent. dd Scarcely everyone left the hnilding when there was a huge explosion. @ Seldom ........ $0 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 snowi heavily. h ‘no circumstances are bags to be taken inta the library. the airline official checked again did she realize I had been given the J Not only did Harrison break into the house, .. he also attacked one of the occupants ke 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.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 8._ cut me free, whatever happens; he told them. b’ __.. we are clear of the island must I be set free’ c. 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 lase their will ta continue on their journey. Odysseus wanted to hear the beautiful singing, but he wanted to survive. Soon @ 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 # __ 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 cnuldn’t persuade his men to untie him. Past the island , the erew 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 Bareyouto — Cdoyou b AOnly after B Not only Never © ALitile 8 Thy as cwhy d A Were Sif Should © Athan he had expected 8 had it C out of the mist f Abe heard B hud he heared — C wats he hearing them g A Was he B Dil he C Had he h ATiyas elf Only after A did they went Bawent the ship C go Oulyasens ant his men fA Not unit Binnoway —— CNosvoner that eae anae A. Write some examples beginning: Were my country... Should global warming... Had ! known ... B Choose ten examples from the explanation pages and translate them into your language. @ inversion and frontingd There has been lower consumer demand. However, the company has increased pratits by 6%. @ Bicycles are pollution-free and silent. As well as this, they take up very little parking space. 4 The heater lias been tested for safety. Nevertheless it must be used according to the instructions. 9 J don't cally like the design of this sofa. Besides, it wou't fit {nto the living room. ex4 aTosomeextent bHowever ¢ As well as_ din some reopects @ Aboweall fas a result of g Furthermore h However iconsequently j asa result unit 44 ex1 a First of all_b As faras snakes are concerned _¢ such as d Alternatively e utterly Fsimply g instead h from i Imaway jakind of Ex2 al bs c2 dé e4 f1 Ex3 aconcemed bsuch ckind dso efor fle gsay respects / ways iliterally jApart kas Isher exa asheer_bsimply cmere diiterally eutterly {sheer Gsheer/utter Hutter isimply j utterly Ex5 ac bA cA dC eB fB gA hB ic JA 93 ho 18 j7 unit 42 Ex a Vhaven‘t done it yet b neither do my friends cit dtoldherso eifsoheis {moreso gdoinxse hse i this's the most expensive one j hers x2 Aone bvery much citis dones ehers fdidso Gueither /norcan Brian ho inot js ex3 aC bA cB dC eA TB GA ex 4 don’t havea bike ow but | uscd to hays ane -¢ and he likes playing computer games. 4... but my friends aren't scortied abautit ¢ ... but she doesn’t make her own clothes any more. f —" g.... but Theresa hasn't been there. fh ...but he didn’t say who he would bring to the party. i" [ve done the shopping and [ve cleaned the house, x5 22 ‘Do yan think ynu'll he late tonight? “I don’t suppase sa! ‘b Bond started to disconnect the red wire, but as he dd so, something told tint he had made a mistake. Ifyou wanted to stay at home, why didn't you say 90? 4 Sue tried to reach the top shelf but couldn't da so / it. ¢ tcan’t stand fotk music, and neither / nor can David. f Helen left her bike outside the cinema, but she didn’t remember doing so. 9 The robbery was commhted by two people, or so we bellove, Ex6 2 There is no problem as lar as maney is concerned, bb In away, | think you're absolutely correct. ¢ Everyone was there apart irom Jim. d These are my cards and those are yours. € In conclusion, | woutd like to thank the organizers of this conference. 4 ‘This country has high youth unemployment in comparison with other European count § fam nas been absent from college due to itiness. Tony thluks it was a terrible fil, and so do 1. i United played badly, but at east they won the match. j The tennis tournament has been postponed owing to bad weather. ‘Will you be here next year?’ #1 don't think so.’ 1 The scheme has been successful toa certain extent. Asa result of the earthquake, many roacls in the area have been closed. 1 The two artists appear ta be different but are similar in some respects. ‘9 She was forced to give up driving on account of her poor eyesight. P Instead of taking the bus, | went on foot, 4 Fist ofall, write down a list of your ideas. F Many animals, such as bears, sleep for much of the winter. 's Noaitefact which is alien, that is to say not from our planet, has ever been discovered, Ex7 ac bA cC dC eB fB gA BIC JA kA 1A me Unit 43 Ext ‘a Rarely b Should ¢ Never have | seen d What he is talking ahoutt_ e managed Strange as it may seem g when h Into the room ran i Hadwe known Jcould kLittle Were Ex2 aC BB CA dC CA TB QC hB IC JB kG 1A Ex3 ‘a Were we to take no action, the situation would only become worse. b Rarely does a member of the government admit to making a serious mistake, ¢ Under no circumstances are you to leave this foom. d Only later did the potice reveal the true Identity of the thle. €@ Try as Anidrew might, he couldn't pass his driving test. ¥ Had you consulted me at the outset, I could have given you the right advice. 4g Were you to offer mea higher salary, | would take the job. Fi shuld the weather worsen, the mateh will probably he cancelled, 1 Only after checking the accounts did they realize money was ulssing, J Inno way has the breach of security affected the examination results. Ex4 2 seem biittle csooner Onto e until F came /walked gHad hOnly i could jwhen k did) tWhy > eH 3 FA 3 9the 190m ran (wy aned policemen, 'b .. on a clear day like today can you really enjay the view. € «the ship collide with an iceberg, the passengers would be in no danger. d.... though the case may be, such eases are not completely unheard of, € ... came / poured the rain. F “has a goverment acted with such blatant dishonesty. {G .- You 10 ask me again, | would give you the same ansiver as before. hh... the matter is Ihave no idea. 12. we realized that the hutticane would Int the city, we ‘would have evacuated the residents in advance, j -».did anybody suspect that the police inspector was the murderer k ... when the accounts were checked was the theft discovered. |... had Paula shut the door than she realized she had left her iey inside. Ex6 ado bOnly edid dhad ehave Fdid gthan hy Under iwhen jbut khas Idid Ex7 aB bA cC dA eC fB gC A 1B jA Unit 44 Ext a not theslightest bit_b nothing whatsoever _¢ do hope you d the very last moment. e who sent the very thing, gtodo hWherever iwho jatall Ex2 aA bC cC dB eC fB gB hC iA JB x3 a The police asked David the same question again and again / averand over bb There was no chance at all of saving the damaged ship. ‘The house { was looking lor wasat the very end of the stecet. GAIT want (0 dos sleep. L want my own bike. F ttwas when | saw smoke coming from under the door that | became alarmed. {g Thanks very much indeed for your help. ‘h Whatever can you mean? i It was what Robert did next that took everyone by surprise. J tes your own fault, Exa aown bthat cis down ewhat fat gmore hat Vit jvery Whatever’ 1 What REVIEW Unit 3 ‘a wassitting bhad occupied ¢stood d had reduced @ had undergone f were raining g had largely evaporated had heen “Iooked j had given unit 4 @ have wondered b have argued ¢ lave been searching, d have been trying have lost f have been looking for 4g have worked out Unit 8 2... Was belleved to have been stolen. 'b 1 was thought to have crashed in the mountains. € ... was kriown to have rejected the plan, 2.2 was reported to have fled to South America ¢ «., were thought to have found fingerprints atthe scene of the crime. ‘was believed (o lave killed over a thousand people. Was known to have visited the murdered man on the afternoon of his death. Wa5 reported to have paid the singer $2 million in damages. Unit 9 aot byet clshaving/isgetting dyet ohad f got 4g had his hair / got his hair h get igot having / getting unit 14 Ext 2 Ifyou happen to have a camera with you at the scene of the accident, you can take some shots of all the vehicles involved, bb Check the weatlter reports before you leave, otherwise you sight take the wrong clothes with you. ¢ If It were not for the Income from advertising, newspapers would not earn enough money. d Investors will not buy shares Gutess they leave confidence it tthe market. ‘0 We guarantee to get you talking even if you can't speak a ‘word of English # Permanent 1 over, 1g Were Ito accept the job, would be able ta work Irom home some of the time? fh Supposing there were a serious outbreak of hird Hu in Europe, what would the EU do? iit we don’t do something nowy, the situation will get worse. jents cau vote provided they ate aged 18 oF