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One of London Zoo's recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so patently did it distort reality.

I don't know what to do to understand this phrase..

I guessed this sentence as "The advertisement caused me irritation. It distorted reality." I'm not sure.

But I don't know how it can be 1 sentence. And What is the meaning and usage of "so patently did"? I know 'patently' means 'obviously'.

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It's simply rearranged word order. That sentence means:

One of London Zoo's recent advertisements caused me some irritation, it distorted reality so patently.

It's common to do an subject-verb inversion when the adverb is put before. Another common example is "Little did I know":

I was speaking ill of Fred; little did I know that he was right behind me, listening in.‎ (source)

Meaning "I didn't know", or "I knew little about the fact that..."

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  • Then is there any difference between normal order and rearranged order?
    – Ting Choe
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 2:41
  • Plus, can two sentences be connected by comma?
    – Ting Choe
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 2:43
  • @TINGCHOE I'd say it's just style. And what do you mean, "two sentences"? If there's a coma it's only one sentence. Are you talking about the semicolon perhaps? ( ; )
    – Teleporting Goat
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 7:39
  • I mean, if you replace comma to period, the sentence becomes two sentences.
    – Ting Choe
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 7:40
  • @TINGCHOE In your sentence? Yes, I think you could use a period instead of a coma. The coma is better because it links a cause to its consequence, but it's not incorrect to use a period.
    – Teleporting Goat
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 7:44

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