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a. Never again did I see her.
b. Never did I see her again.

I'd use (a) over (b). But is (b) natural? If so, is there any difference in meaning?

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2 Answers 2

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The 'natural' way to say it is "I never saw her again". Putting never at the beginning is a literary/formal way to emphasise the word. The difference between (a) and (b) is a matter of opinion; I think I would favour (a).

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  • Thanks. If both work and there's no difference in meaning, why would you favor (a)?
    – listeneva
    Dec 20, 2022 at 10:30
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    I consider it stylistically better, but opinion-based questions are off-topic.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 20, 2022 at 11:18
  • How would you know for sure if it's opinion based? If most native speakers, not just you, favor (a), wouldn't (a) be simply more idiomatic than (b)?
    – listeneva
    Dec 23, 2022 at 2:57
  • Well, putting never at the beginning would only occur in consciously 'poetic' language anyway. Others are welcome to comment.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 23, 2022 at 9:02
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If a sentence begins from a negative adverb there must be the inversion. The first one is only correct because negative adverb stays first in the sentence. If you want to avoid inversion just use it in other place in a sentence

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    This is irrelevant, since both examples have the verb inverted.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 20, 2022 at 11:17
  • Ok then both are correct and it's an official style
    – Petro Probka
    Dec 20, 2022 at 11:36
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    @PetroProbka If you have changed your mind and now think your answer is wrong, then you should probably edit or delete it.
    – gotube ♦
    Dec 20, 2022 at 17:32

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