Not until the school bus arrived had my sister waited

[ademoglu]

Hi,

1- Until she spoke I hadn't realized she wasn't English. (http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/until?q=until)
The inversion: Not until she spoke had I realized she wasn't English.

2- My sister had waited at the window until the school bus arrived. (*self-made*)
The inversion: Not until the school bus arrived had my sister waited at the window.

I would like to ask if the inversion of sentence one is OK or not. As for the second sentence, I am not sure if I should use the past perfect or should I use the simple past. If it is OK, I would like to ask if the inversion of it is OK, too?

Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

Your rewriting of sentence #2 is not natural and it means the opposite of the original.

 

[Tdol]

In the first, I would use did I realise ​as the realisation came after/at the time of speaking. I don't see any natural inversion in the second.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is it OK to say 'Not until the school bus arrived did my sister stop waiting at the window'?

Not a teacher.

 

[Barb_D]

Actually that's okay, Matthew.

 

[Tdol]

It is OK, and you could use had arrived as well- the problem with the original sentences is the use of the past perfect with the wrong part. However, I don't see either version as particularly natural sentences- it seems a bit too casual for this kind of style. You could create a context where it would sound OK, but this sentence and this inversion don't go well together IMO.