Questions tagged [subject-auxiliary-inversion]
The subject-auxiliary-inversion tag has no usage guidance.
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What is the difference between subject-verb inversion and subject-operator inversion?
How does subject-verb inversion differ from subject-operator inversion? Could someone explain using examples for each?
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Is the sentence "How many we had this morning" correct?
Let's say I had an exact number of tasks at the beginning of a day, and I forgot in the evening how many I had when the work day had started. What is the correct or more casual way to phrase that ...
Fiat Education
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2
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"should I" or "I should" in wh-question [closed]
Which of the sentences below is correct (plus explanation if possible)? If both of them are incorrect, in any way, please suggest me another way to say it.
Which version I should choose to work with?
...
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Does he *has* a ball?
As we know, third person singular uses "has" instead of "have". But why do you say, "Does he have a ball? Yes, he has a ball."
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No way was I going vs No way I was going
Can you explain to me why there is so order of words in the sentence (from my book):
I'd been asking Mom for a year to let me go back to Ridgefield, our hometown in Illinois, and see my friends. No ...
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Subject-auxiliary inversion in affirmative answers?
I came across a sentence as follows.
Most teachers attest to the superior intelligence Ralph has
displayed. Because of this, one of the teachers wants to register him
in a local quiz show. When he is ...
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Run-on sentences as a result of not only X but also Y inversion?
I have a question regarding the usage of 'not only... but also'.
Query #1: When does 'not only...(but) (also)' inversion result in a run-on sentence?
I present two sample sentences below - to me, they ...
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Why does "would" come up here?
I've been confused about the following sentence. I can't find a subject and a verb, and I can't understand why "would" is here. Can anyone tell me the structure of this sentence?
Only when ...
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Why is inversion applied in some subordinate interrogative clauses when a subject is asked for?
Preamble
The main concern of this post was discussed in this thread. However, both the OP and I were not convinced of the explanation in the existing answer and comments. I tried to talk to the author ...
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'Said distracted mum' vs 'distracted mum said'?
I write fairytale, and I wonder if I can write something like:
"'It was strange.' Said distracted mum"
or maybe the form "distracted mum said" has to be for every time? I'd like ...
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word order in a sentence starting with "Not even when"
Not even when the doorbell rang could Mary rise from the bed.
Not even when the doorbell rang Mary could rise from the bed.
Are both sentences correct? If so, is there a difference in usage between ...
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Inversion in this sentence: "Nothing can/could I do..."
Is it possible to use an inversion like this:
"Nothing could (can) I do in that situation."
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2
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47
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"once in a blue moon" and "rarely"
Does "once in a blue moon," an expression that means "very rarely," also require inversion?
Rarely does he work at night.
He rarely works at night.
Once in a blue moon does he ...
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How does "had" change the meaning in the sentece "Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when...."
First I thought it was the phenomenon of "Conditional inversion", but the full sentence does not contain a hypothetical situation but a past occurrence, so that shouldn't be the case (Should ...
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“Can you tell me where did you buy it?” [duplicate]
Is it correct to say the following as an indirect question?
Can you tell me where did you buy it?
or should it be
Can you tell me where you bought it?
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"With no jobs Bobby would be happy." and "With no jobs would Bobby be happy." What's your interpretation of these?
For this couple of days, I'm reading a book titled English sentences Japanese people always get wrong (Written by Toshiya Echizen), and have some questions regarding the interpretation of some example ...
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Which is correct, would you or you would?
What is one question would you like to ask a time traveler from 1000 years in the future?
or
What is one question you would like to ask a time traveler from 1000 years in the future?
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Do some subjunctive sentences mean the same with the sentences with the pattern " Too...for....to "?
The question is " Can I use inversions and subjunctives " in the same sentence ? ". In subjunctive sentence ,it says " It's so important that he get back home early " ,then ...
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How can I apply inversions to sentences that include "because"?
Which of the following sentences is correct?
Because did I love the dinner, I ate it to my full
Or
Because I loved the dinner, did I ate it to my full
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1
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Is "When I got back home, did the lights go out?" grammatically correct?
Is the sentence:
When I got back home, did the lights go out?
grammatically correct, as compared to its inverted form:
Did the lights go out when I got back home?
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May he rest in peace. Why subject-auxiliary inversion?
I understand that this is a kind of a set phrase to express the hope that his spirit has found peace after death, but I don't understand why subject-auxiliary inversion occurs, and the "May" ...
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Subject-operator inversion
If a sentence begins with a negative or semi-negative word / phrase, it causes subject-operator inversion :
"In no other way can the matter be explained."
"Hardly had I seen Sam when he ...
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1
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'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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1
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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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Auxiliary verb at the beginning
The auxiliary verb can come at the beginning of a sentence and that wasn't a question like this
It is quite possible that, had they been born into a life of privilege, they wouldn't have committed ...
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1
answer
33
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Subject Auxiliary Inversion and the usage of 'ever' and 'never'
Please let me know if the following sentences is correct:
1- Have you never tried the Doritos Wasabi flavor?
My question is related to using 'have' with 'never'. I've seen the present perfect with ...
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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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285
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Not long before ... , inversion?
I got this question in my English exam this morning and have been wondering about it:
So my questions are:
Can "Not long before [something happened/an event/a point in time]" be seen grammatically ...
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2
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"Don't I just bet you were"
What does ""Don't I just bet you were" mean in the following?
A: I was about to demonstrate how to use the tool.
B: Don't I just bet you were.
I'd appreciate your help.
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776
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Difference between 'I don't know how can I' and 'I don't know how I can'?
I am confused between
I don't know how can I do this
and
I don't know how I can do this
Can anyone explain difference between these sentences?
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Subject-verb inversion in 'as' clause and passive voice
A.I. programs used to help judges predict which criminals are most likely to reoffend have shown troubling racial biases, as have those designed to help child protective services decide which calls ...
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what time it is / is it
The native speaker told the second sentence is incorrect.
Could you please explain why?
(1) What time is it?
(2) I don't know what time it is.
Mary M
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as she was or as was she?
I'd like to know whether "as was she" is correct in the following:
Peter was aware of the problem, as was she / as she was.
I'd appreciate your help.
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Is "to know who were the people that..." correct in this sentence?
Most of us when we have seen houses which were picturesquely situated, and wore a look of unusual beauty and comfort, have felt a desire to know who were the people that lived in them.
I suppose that ...
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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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When to use "he/she had" and when to use "had he/she" when formulating a question?
I'm not very sure, but I think the "he/she had" structure is more colloquial/informal? Or maybe I should never use that construction when asking questions?
Here's an example sentence:
Her ...
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I've never had vs. not once have I had
This is a sentence meaning question:
Sentence #1: I've been running this extension for over a month, and not once have I had a serious problem. (From an internet source)
Vs.
Sentence #2: I've ...
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Is "Outside the house were two women talking" a grammatical/good sentence? partial inversion vs full inversion
Oxford Guide to English Grammar; John Eastwood; Oxford University Press 1994-09
Page 56-57
3 Inversion after an adverbial
a In this sentence the pattern is subject + verb + adverbial of place....
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Can we add the phrase "do you think" in an interrogative sentence and not reverse the subject-verb order?
I was chatting with my friend and I asked him this question. But, then I was not sure if it was grammatically correct because I had never used the phrase "do you think" with an interrogative sentence. ...
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What is a correct question?
What is a correct question to this answer?
We have our Spanish lessons in the center.
A: Where do you have got Spanish lessons?
B: Where have you got Spanish lessons?
Notice: considering that (...
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1
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Why is "are" placed in the middle rather than the end?
I saw the following sentence structure in an American textbook from 2010:
Metal A and B are much more brittle than are metal C and D.
Why is the "are" placed where it is (emphasized in bold)?
...
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In “Does he have it?”, why doesn't ‘have’ agree with ‘he’?
We say "He/She has it", ie "he" or "she" which are singular is followed by "has". Similarly "they" or "you" which are plural, are followed ...
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Is the subject-verb inversion in this sentence correct?
She does not always mean good, and not always is she overt as to her real meaning.
I think "is" should come before "she" because of "not always". Is that correct?
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"How many language do you speak?" OR "How many language you speak?"
How many language do you speak?
OR
How many language you speak?
Which one is correct? What is the difference?
I have found another example:
How much food are you going to take with ...
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Comma and Antecedant Questions from Example Text [closed]
"In her lonesome cottage, by the seashore, thoughts visited her such as dared to enter no other dwelling in New England; shadowy guests, that would have been as perilous as demons to their entertainer,...
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How many months does it has to take to build a cruise.(grammar)
With reference to the title:
How many months does it has to take to build a cruise.
Is my subject-verb agreement correct? Particularly 'does it has to' or should I say ''does it have to''? I ...
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Subject inversion in the correlative comparative construction
Found this line in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (ch.13 #4.6)
The more conditions I impose, the less likely is he to agree.
The chapter doesn't say why the inversion was used here. ...
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Is the inversion in the mentioned context idiomatic/grammatical?
But, in either of the above ways is intentionality defined, why not to
use the previously mentioned criteria to identify an intentional
crime?
In the above sentence "is" is put before the subject....
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For what purposes is inversion used?
While English seems one of the languages most rigid in word order, there are many types of inversion. I know some patterns into which they can be categorized; interrogative sentence, subjunctive mood, ...
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Why do we reverse the order in one sentence but not the other?
1a) “What is it?”
b) “What do you think it is?” (is it reversed)
2a) “What would be a good way to go about this?”
b) “What do you think would be a good way to go about this?”
2b apparently does ...
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