Not until

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by nicolas

I think I have understanded this sentence more.

Say: "I think I understand the sentence better."

I'm glad we could help.

:D :D

Dear RonBee,

Thanks, I think I understand the sentence better :wink: :D

I don't agree that the DID is there purely for emphasis. The original sentence cannot be written with the DID simply omitted.

The sentence could also be rewritten in the following order:
Until he arrived home, he did not find he'd left it in the restaurant.

Here it is clear that the DID is required because of the NOT.

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Yes. The 2nd part, "did he find he'd left..." is OK. :D

he did (in fact) find.... (did refers to 'it's a fact'; used for emphasis)

did he (in fact) find.... (did is moved to the verb position)

Not until X verb Y
X = he had arrived home
Y = he find he had left the key....

If we add a verb, then 'did' becomes ungrammatical:

It was not until he had arrived home did he find.... Ungrammatical

:D

By the way, the original sentence is not grammatical to me. I prefer:

Not until he had arrived home did he find he had left....

:D

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Frances

I don't agree that the DID is there purely for emphasis. The original sentence cannot be written with the DID simply omitted.

The sentence could also be rewritten in the following order:
Until he arrived home, he did not find he'd left it in the restaurant.

Here it is clear that the DID is required because of the NOT.

By the way, the original sentence is not grammatical to me. I prefer:

Not until he had arrived home did he find he had left....

:D

That's good too.

:D

Dear Frances.

I don't agree that the DID is there purely for emphasis. The original sentence cannot be written with the DID simply omitted.

The sentence could also be rewritten in the following order:
Until he arrived home, he did not find he'd left it in the restaurant.

Here it is clear that the DID is required because of the NOT.

Wow! you're terrific !

I think I understand the sentence better and better :D

[RonBee]

At least he remembered where he'd left it. That's something.

:wink:

[Belly T]

Can I asked this:
The refugees continued to feel unsafe until they had crossed the border.
So how can we rewrite it with "Not until"?

[hector51]

Can I asked this:
The refugees continued to feel unsafe until they had crossed the border.
So how can we rewrite it with "Not until"?

Not until the refugees crossed the border did they continue to feel unsafe!

correct me if I'm wrong,plz!

[bianca]

Not until the refugees had crossed the border did they (finally) feel safe / did they stop feeling unsafe.

(that changes the sentence a bit, I reckon. But the meaning stays the same.).
bianca

[mrjohnson]

When a sentence starts with "Not Until, Never, Rarely.... and other "negative" words" their is always an auxiliary verb after it.

For instance,

Never DID I know how good she was.