Inversion

Status
Not open for further replies.

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Which verb do you invert?
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Are you looking for comments primarily from learners?

:)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
lucyarliwu said:
tdol said:
Which verb do you invert?

Invert "did" after "arrived":
Only when I arrived did I realise....

Yes, it's the main verb, which is not the case normally. ;-)
 

cner01

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Laos
Inversion is to emphasize what you like to tell listeners or reader. So it depends on what you'd like to emphasize
 

Isra

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Ok, I voted the second alternative.:-D
Now, I have a question.

Cann't be use:
Only when I arrived I relised.........:?: why not??
 
S

sheena55ro

Guest
We invert the verb in the second sentence[ i.e, in the main sentence] - did I realise.
 
S

sheena55ro

Guest
Isra said:
Ok, I voted the second alternative.:-D
Now, I have a question.
Cann't be use:
Only when I arrived I relised.........:?: why not??


You have to follow the rule of Inversion if you want to speak correct grammatical English
 

Mad-ox

Key Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Romania
Current Location
Romania
the second variant is correct!!!!!!!!!!!!! and is sure!!!!!!!!!! have a nice day!
 

hector51

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Member Type
Student or Learner
by the way,do people often use this kind of inversion in spoken english?
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It's less common than in writing, but some like 'Had I' for the 'If I had' in the third conditional is common enough. ;-)
 

pristtian

New member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
:-D MANY MORE FOR YOU:(THIS IS A FULL LESSON:cool: )
1/ Negative intro:
  • Never do I sleep
  • Only at night can I study
  • In no way could I help u with your Japanese grammar question
  • Not until I got home did I realise that my shoes were untied
  • At no time did I say I would accept late homework
  • Hardly had I left before the trouble started
  • Little did I know that he was a compulsive liar
  • No sooner had I reached the door than I realised it was locked
  • Not a single word did she say
  • On no account should u be absent from your seminars
  • Only when/if/when/later did I know what I had got myself into
  • Seldom have I seen him looking so miserable
2/Intro adverbial
  • Into the room ran the lady
  • First comes love,then comes marriage
  • After A comes B,then comes C,next comes D
  • Down came the rain and washed the spider out
3/ Intro past participle
  • Found in San Franc is Lombard St ,the so-called "croookedest street in the world"
  • Lost amongst the old tables and chairs was the priceless Victorian desk
  • Located between San Franc and Marin Country is the Golden Gate Bridge
4/ Comparatives
  • Cheetahs run faster than do antelopes
  • You speak Chinese better than do I
5/Intro comparative
  • Bigger than an apatosaur is the blue whale
  • More important than your personal statement is your GPA
  • No less impressive than the invention of the laser was the development of the wheel
6/ Comparisons:
  • So much did she adore John that she would not give him up
  • So happy was I that I bought flowers for everyone in class
  • So quickly did she leave that we did not even realize she was gone
  • So exciting was the soap opera that I forgot to do my homework
  • Such is a popularity of the TV programme that everyone enjoys it
  • Such was his strength that he could bend iron bars
7/ If-clauses
  • Had I remembered Tomomi's birthday ,she wouldn't be mad at me now
  • Should you need a hand,I will be more happy to help you
  • Were I you,I think I would apply for that job
8/ There + be/ exist/ come etc.....
  • There comes a time in every person's life when she realises that she is in charge of her own happiness ,not other people
  • There remains the problem of finance
9/ Here + be/come.......
  • Here is some good food for you to try
  • Here comes the bus!
10/ Intro-ING
  • Coming in last the race was Joe
  • Not helping the situation was little Susan ,who was throwing newspaper on the spreading fire
11/ Emphasis:
  • Boy am I hungry!!!!
  • Is it ever hot in here!
  • Do you know how to cook!!
  • Don't you know how much I love you!1
12/ Questions + Story speech
  • Is it the last test??
  • "I think it's time to go" said Susan
13/Nor
  • No one has volunteered for the job ,nor do we expect anyone to volunteer in the future
14/ Intro adj
  • Happy about their acceptance into their dream schools were Jack and John
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I suppose that's enough of the inversions you guys really get involved in.........Have fun......Any questions for this grammar points, Tell me....maybe the satisfactory answer will be given...I promise@@@
 
Last edited:

Teia

Key Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Romanian
Home Country
Romania
Current Location
Romania
Hi


The second verb must be inverted :
Only when I arrived did I realise what was going on.

Regards,
 

JACOOL

Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2006
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Saudi Arabia
Current Location
Saudi Arabia
interesting, this's really a usingenglish site, now I can remember that I've heard of 'inversion' before, but it's much clearer now, thanks everybudy and thanks to Paristtian for the examples.
 

beastmaster

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
second one is the correct one because ıf the sentence starts with word 'only' initial so there must be inversion in the second sentence this structure is the similiar tu use of only if
 

çakırpençe

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
So bad for me that ı've choosen the wrong one because of my hunger :)))

just a simple rule.
If we doesnt begin the sentence with a word apart from the orijinal subject, then we can say that there seem to be an inversion in that sentence.
True??
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
No; inversion is when the verb and subject switch so that it resemebles a question.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top