Questions tagged [inversion]
Inversion is the placing of words or whole phrases in the reverse of their usual order in a sentence. It can serve a grammatical or a rhetorical purpose.
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“A formidable figure she was too, in her belted smock and green breeches” Is this sentence a relative clause?
A formidable figure she was too, in her belted smock and green breeches
Is this sentence a relative clause ?
like 'A formidable figure (which) she was too'
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1answer
29 views
If I had money / Had I money, I would like to buy a car
If I had money, I would like to buy a car.
Had I money, I would like to buy a car.
Are they correct and if not, why?
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Why is the usage of inversion incorrect? While It seems it should be right
The sentence is as below:
I wish I had never worked there.
And the sentence with inversion is as below:
I wish never had I worked there.
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1answer
20 views
If you don't mind me asking + Wh. words
I am well aware what does the indirect speech mean.
Example:
Person a. How old are you?
Person b. I didn't notice what he asked!
Person C. He asked how old you are. [Indirect speech]
But could ...
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24 views
Is it possible to leverage two inversions into one sentence?
I don't have the foggiest idea about the rectitude of my instance, as well as about the viability of the creation of this sort of sentence. If my example is not correct, and if putting two inversions ...
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2answers
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Subject-verb inversion
I've seen these sentences :
There goes the train!
There goes Peter!
Here comes Peter!
But
There he goes!
Here he comes!
Why is there a subject-verb inversion when the subject is ...
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0answers
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What are the grammatical facts of this 'Be it enacted by' structure?
Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate and the
House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa, as follows:-
I see the structure 'Be it enacted by...' in a lot of law-related ...
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23 views
“He/Peter said” vs. “Said he/Peter”
We often see "said he/Peter" or "he/Peter said" after the direct speech :
"Your information is out of date" he said.
"Your information is out of date" said he.
"Your information is out of date" Peter ...
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1answer
14 views
“Left dislocation” of object for emphasis
I admire her. (SVO).
Her I admire. (OSV).
The left dislocation of the object is due to emphasis on it.
"I know when he will come."
Here, the object is "when he will come".
Is 'left ...
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0answers
16 views
Is the second part an inversion?
In the following sentence, is the second part an inversion?
She was fair and not very tall; after her trotted a white Pomeranian.
Can I rephrase it as the second?
She was fair and not ...
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1answer
39 views
āAs can I.ā Is this grammatically correct?
I know English has inversion features. And So does my first language.
She can speak Swahili and so can I.
ā this sounds totally correct.
Then how about using as instead of so:
She can speak ...
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1answer
19 views
Could you explain āhad it not been forā?
Could you explain the grammar of this sentence?:
...my own father would have drowned himself had it not been for my mother's prayers and faith.
I didn't understand the construction of this ...
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1answer
34 views
Why in “Frozen” the statement “Am I so ready for this change” has an inversion?
In the first "Frozen" movie, while the city prepares for the Coronation Day, Anna is singing a song describing how she imagines the new situation she is going to encounter on that day. At some point ...
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1answer
41 views
'Not until three years ago _________ to work outside.' [(a) he began (b) he begins (c) began he (d) did he begin ]
'Not until three years ago _________ to work outside.'
[(a) he began (b) he begins (c) began he (d) did he begin ]
Hi guys, I know the answer to this question is 'd', but I've had someone ask me ...
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1answer
34 views
Meaning of 'have it they did'
When they had the ultimate audacity and have it they did then you needn't wonder that everything was turned upside down.
In this sentence, what is the meaning of 'have it they did'? Please tell me I ...
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1answer
35 views
Inversion in the adverbial clause
Two questions about this sentence
Only now could he see what a terrible decision he had made.
The inversion should happen in the main clause and not in the adverbial clause, isn't it?
The ...
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1answer
60 views
“Not only can I not help you, but also (never/ under no circumstances) can our parents help you.”
Is my sentence grammatically correct?
Not only can I not help you, but also (never/ under no circumstances) can our parents help you.
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“what had she said ” vs “what she had said” Which one is correct?
I had been deemed "what she had said" is correct sentence. However lately I played some English visual novel games, there was a sentence with strange grammar: "what had she said".
Which one is ...
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1answer
34 views
auxiliary in inversion without a negation
I thought we must use auxiliary verbs in sentences with inversion only when we have an explicit (not, never) or implicit (only if, hardly, little) negation. But I have come across the next sentence:
...
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30 views
“No sooner had … than” and “No sooner did … than”
Are both of the following sentences grammatically correct?
No sooner had the committee made the announcement than everyone started complaining
No sooner did the committee made the announcement ...
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0answers
39 views
Ask about the reason of not giving money to people by banks
Suppose you live in a country, and an economical issue was happened, and the country's banks refuse giving money back to people ... what is the best way to ask about the reason?
Why are not banks ...
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1answer
541 views
Is the usage “it is not until nowā¦ā¦” grammatically correct?
I have heard a lot of sentences including the phrase "until now" at the begining of sentences.
But when I search its inversion format in Google, I hardly find any related sentences which begin with
...
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240 views
What do they vs What they
I wonder ____________. ---Pandas.
A. what do they call these animals.
B. what they call these animals.
C. what they do call these animals.
I guess if it is a personal conversation, it would be "...
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2answers
2k views
Usage of “How can we” and “How we can” in the following case
Correct
This is how we can improve XXX.
Correct
How can we improve XXX?
May I know, which is the correct form?
Would you mind telling us how we can improve XXX?
Would you mind telling us how can ...
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1answer
45 views
How to use So Inversion
I came across "so" inversion without "that" do you ratify this clause and supply more examples ?
The attitudes towards the use of insect in animal feed and resulting livestock products are generally ...
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84 views
Can “not only … but also” be constructed as “not only … as also”?
In other languages, the construction "not only ... but also" can be constructed in a different form: "not only ... as also".
Is this also possible in English? For example, is this sentence correct?:
...
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1answer
42 views
Can we make a question with inversion sentence?
In an essay, can I write the next question about free time? Is is grammatically correct?
Seldom have I watched films on TV?
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1answer
39 views
Does inversion occur after comma?
Which of the following is correct?
Only after he came home did I go to bed.
Only after he came home, I went to bed.
Is the second clause correct?
Or is inversion compulsory in that case ...
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votes
1answer
18 views
Is this inversion structure correct?
Given is the chart concerning the percentage of graduates working in
different sectors of the economy in the UK in 2004.
I would like to ask whether this sentence is grammatically correct. The part ...
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2answers
21 views
Does inversion change the meaning of the sentence: “As she did…, she could”
She could not go to the party as she did not have an invitation.
As she did not have an invitation, she could not go to the party.
What is the difference between them?
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1answer
44 views
What type of inversion is in the following sentences? : Thee will I honor, praise and give glory [closed]
e.g:
Thee will I love, my Strength, my Tower
thee shall I love in endless day
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Two examples about the usage of inversion which make me confused
In the temple of science are many mansions, and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them thither.
This is a sentence from a speech of Albert Einstein. When I ...
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1answer
76 views
Inversion in a sentence with the continuous tense
The original sentence is
The two men were talking in front of the station.
Which one of the following sentences is correct, if I place the adverbial phrase at the beginning?
In front of the ...
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0answers
26 views
Inversion in second conditional
If Sandy were giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous.
Were Sandy giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous.
Is this inversion correct?
Thank you so much in advance!
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1answer
84 views
Subject-dependent inversion
In front of him opens a magnificent view on mountains.
Is such a subject-dependent inversion possible? Or should I use
there opens a magnificent view on mountains in front of him?
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2answers
53 views
Can I say; So happy does he look? - is it grammatical?
I wonder which of the following sentences is grammatically right?
So happy he looks.
So happy does he look.
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1answer
33 views
In the distance + inversion sentenceļ¼
In the distance could be seen the purple mountains.
In the distance the purple mountains could be seen.
I know sentence 1 is right, but can you tell me whether sentence 2 is right.
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2answers
86 views
Comma before āthatā if a sentence begins with an emphatic construction
A coursebook gives a reference to āinversion after āneither / norā, āsoā & āsuchāā, and there is this example:
Such was the weather, that even the most daring windsurfers stayed at
home.
The ...
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1answer
145 views
Is it an inversion in comparison?
There is no strong theoretical or empirical motivation for the view
that grammatical competence is any more or less crucial to successful
communication than is sociolinguistic competence or ...
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1answer
191 views
Had Andrew a little patient… - error in the example sentence?
At https://www.learngrammar.net/a/examples-of-inversion-used-in-conditional-sentences there's one example which I think has an error in it. Specifically
Had Andrew a little patient, he could have ...
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1answer
47 views
inversion: with great power comes
#1 below is an instance of inversion, i.e., the subject "great responsibility" follows the verb "comes."
I'd like to know whether this inversion is optional; is #2 correct?
With great powerĀ ...
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1answer
70 views
Is “Hardly…when” an idiom?
I know that if I start my sentence with an adverb such as hardly I must invert the subject and the verb,but do I really need to use only "when" afterwards?.For instance,is
Hardly had I entered ...
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1answer
114 views
Whether the sentence is the inversion type or not?
I ran across a sentence from the magazine 'Esquire' through the internet. I'd like to know whether the sentence is the inversion type or not.
Always does he throw the disorder into everything he ...
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2answers
59 views
{be verb} + {subject}
Written by people more or less knowledgeable about the subject and about the history of technology, these accounts tend to focus on the unusual and the spectacular, be it people or lines of research, ...
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1answer
219 views
Usage of “at” in “… at the cottage just over my shoulder is where they had been growing cannabis”
Here's a British news report:
And this is what I've transcribed:
Well, last August when it was found that Neil and Yvette Hartley had...had been growing almost 90 cannabis plants, little did their ...
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1answer
279 views
Asking a question as part of a sentence
I was wondering what is the grammar rule to include a question as a part of a sentence? Here are some examples:
Example 1:
Can you tell what am I missing? vs. Can you tell me what I am missing?
...
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How to use “Asā¦ā¦,soā¦ā¦”
Yesterday, I saw a sentence in my textbook. It goes,
As people change, so languages change.
To me, it also means: The language changes in the same way people change.
However, what makes me ...
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6answers
104 views
May not only take… but also it MAY
In this inversion sentence, do I have to use "may" in the relative clause again?
(Assuming you are not sure, that's why you are including "may" in your sentence)
"Robbery may not only take ...
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1answer
67 views
subject vs subject-complement; inversion
Oxford Guide to English Grammar; John Eastwood; Oxford University Press 1994-09
Page 56
We can also sometimes put a complement in front position.
They enjoyed the holiday. Best of all was the ...
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2answers
45 views
When is inversion between the subject and the object or the subject and the complement possible?
When is inversion between the subject and the object or the subject and the complement possible?
For instance:
I stood at the window watching the kids play. <---> At the window watching the ...
