Questions tagged [subject-auxiliary-inversion]
For questions about sentences where an auxiliary verb has been moved to a spot before the subject. Also called subject-operator inversion.
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"How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?"
Is the following sentence grammatically correct? (I found this sentence on a friend's wall on Facebook)
How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?
or it should be
How many ...
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Why does the sentence uses a question form, but it is put a period in the end?
People can watch dancing displays or can take part in different games. Nowhere, however, do they have more fun than in the Mexican town of Puebla.
Why does the sentence in bold use a question form, ...
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'Only by defending against threats WILL YOU be able to carry out your strategies' - Position of "will"
I saw this sentence and thought shouldn't "will" be placed after "You" instead of before it?
Only by defending against your opponent's threats will you be able to successfully carry out your own ...
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The order of words in a clause: "tell me who is the real man" vs. "tell me who the real man is" [duplicate]
"Tell me who she is."
"Tell me who your boyfriend is."
We usually reverse the order, so it becomes like that.
But I wonder whether "tell me who is the real man" also works because "tell me who ...
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Oscar Wilde's story telling technique
Night after night have I sung of him, though I knew him not: night after night have I told his story to the stars, and now I see him. His hair is as dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red ...
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"How long have you been working?" vs. "How long you have been working?"
I think "How long have you been working?" and "How long you have been working?" are both questions, so, could you tell me what is the difference between them?
user45327
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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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"What did he say?" or "What he said?"
1) 'What did he say?'
2) 'What he said?'
I am much confused about these terms please anybody explain
which one is correct and which I should use?
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Use "does" in front of another verb in a question?
What time does sound good to you?
What time sounds good to you?
Is there a difference?
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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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Why is there inversion in "I want to understand what is it that allows non-alcoholics to understand alkies."?
From "The Collected Ernie Kurtz" (2008), page 120:
This is why I am so interested in the biographies of those early people: I want to understand what is it that allows non-alcoholics to understand ...
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Is 'poltroon' omitted after the word 'made'?
Here's a sample from 'Jane Eyre':
I now stood in the empty hall; before me was the breakfast-room door, and I stopped, intimidated and trembling. What a miserable little poltroon had fear, ...
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Expressions with "and boy was I....." Idiomatic expression?
I'm having a hard time understanding this (idiomatic expression? maybe?) What does it mean, and why is it constructed like that? Why does the verb come first?
Why is it Boy WAS I.. and not Boy I WAS......
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What is it called when a grammatical statement is delivered as a question?
When a person says a grammatically correct sentence, but it's not clear from the way they say, whether it's a question or a statement, what's this delivery called?
So when the sentence is written down,...
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Please tell me how much {I should / should I} pay for this
I am confused about the correct order of the modal verb (should) and the pronoun (I) in the example below. Generally, I feel that the sentence is a request, which implies it is a question. Must the ...
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Verb before noun
Constants and variables of a certain type can't be declared again with the same name, nor can they be altered to store different types.
After 'nor' why 'can' is used first instead of 'they'?
I feel ...
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About inversion and exclamations
While reading Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, I found (p. 270, inversion section) that:
In spoken American English, exclamations often have the same form as ordinary
(non-negative) questions ...
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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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Only once did I see any elephant
I stumbled on this sentence in a book called "Going Solo", but it doesn't look grammatically correct to me:
Only once did I see any elephant.
Please explain to me how does it work.
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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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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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"Why do you not give" Vs "Why do not you give"
Are they, both sentences, grammatically and semantically acceptable?
Why do you not give him your flesh and your bones?
Why do not you give him your flesh and your bones?
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What does he say ? Why there is a "Does"?
"What does he say ?"
My question seems not relevent to grammar, I am not sure, but I am in wonder.
In the question "What does he say ?" the word "does" seems redundant to me, as the question is ...
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the use of subject-verb inversion
The following quote is from Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser:
What Drouet said about the girl's grace, as she tripped out evenings accompanied by her mother, caused Carrie to perceive the nature and ...
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How is the structure " Never have I been"?
I came across " Never have I been so glad to see anyone in my life.".
Is " Never have I been so glad" is the same meaning as "I have been so glad"?
How can I use the phrase " Never have I"?
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You're from which country or which country you're from
1.You're going to school?
2.You're from which country?
Are their structures grammatical? I think they're supposed to be:
(1) Are you going to school?
(2) Which country are you from?
So which ones are ...
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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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Usage of auxiliary verb with question
I am really confused with the word order of English.
How can you go to your sister's house this afternoon?
How you can go to your sister's house this afternoon?
In the first sentence we put the ...
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"Are" at the End of a Statement (a statement that is not an indirect question)
Why is it okay to use "are" at the end of a statement?
I found a page here that talks about verbs at the end of indirect questions, but I am specifically looking for an answer about why "are" can be ...
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What should I say what you are doing or what are you doing to make a statement or declaration?
What should I say "what you are doing" or "what are you doing" to a statement or declaration?
Let's say I'm on Facebook and I want to post something like "comment what you are doing". Is it correct ...
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At what time I should / should I come tomorrow?
Which of the following sentences is correct?
At what time I should come tomorrow?
At what time should I come tomorrow?
I'd like to know where I should put the word should.
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Is this the correct grammar to use?
I always stumble to understand the use of "ARE" as the start of the question.
is this the correct grammar as written below? :
Are you required to hold a work permit in this country?
Are there ...
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asking Question by " How"
which one is correct?
How similes have been translated by different translators in this Text?
or
How do similes have been translated by different translators in this text?
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why (have I unlocked) and not (I have unlocked) since it’s not a question?
A quote from Mel Robbins' book (The five second rule):
“Only through action have I unlocked the power inside of me to become the person that I have always wanted to be“
why did she say (have I ...
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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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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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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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Why is inversion used in "...than do apes in the wild"?
I wanted to know why there is inversion in the last part of the following sentence.
Apes raised by humans seem to protect more frequently than do apes in the wild.
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Which of these two is correct, “What should everyone know?” or “What everyone should know?” [duplicate]
Which of the above is correct usage and why. I saw this edit in a stackoverflow question and it got me wondering why was it edited. Is it just because the first one sounds better?
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Only now "are" technological advances beginning to offer hope
Only now are technological advances beginning to offer hope that wind power will come to be accepted as a reliable and important source of electricity. Wind Power in the US
Why do we need the ...
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Other pronouns with "Boy, am I tired"
Would this emphatic expression be used with other pronouns and other tenses?
Boy, am I tired!
Would you give an example for each tense. An example for all cases would be best but not necessary. ...
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"How rude are you" vs. "How rude you are"
I want to know about this two sentence whether both is correct or wrong.
If both is correct then where can I use this sentence?
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Which word order is correct, "explain why I am" or "explain why am I"? [duplicate]
I was trying to formulate a question yesterday I used the second sentence, however, I keep wondering if that was correct.
Can someone explain to me why I am ...? or
Can someone explain to me why am ...
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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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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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How many apples are there or How many apples there are?
When I want to ask how many apples there is in the refrigerator, what is the correct sentence?
1) How many apples are there?
2) How many apples there are?
I asked this question because ...
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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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Which one is correct: "what did he do" or "what did he does"?
I am confused about how to use "what did he do" and "what did he does".
I want to ask one friend what another friend does.
rafidkarim
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Difference between "which are you" and "which you are"
What is the difference between these two sentences?
Which bike are you using?
Which bike you are using?
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"For no money would she leave" vs "For no money she would leave"
I read a linguistic paper saying that the two sentences have opposite meanings.
For no money would she leave.
For no money she would leave.
The paper says...
(1) means she wouldn't leave even if ...
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