[Grammar] Inversion

[tasmantiger]

Hi, Teacher

I'm discussing "Inversion" in this sentence with my Korean people.


One of the biggest men I have ever seen was lying under a tree.

Inversion 1. Under a tree was lying one of the biggest men I have ever seen. (?)

Inversion 2. Lying under a tree was one of the biggest men I have ever seen. (o) :lol:


Which is a correct Inversion form, 1 or 2 ?

Thanks in advance,

TTiger

 

[Raymott]

I'd use the second, but the first isn't wrong. Note that it should be "one of the biggest men".

 

[MikeNewYork]

Of the two choices, I would choose 2. But I prefer the original.

 

[tasmantiger]

Thank you, Raymott , MikeNewYork


Can I ask one more question?


Ex. A man sat under a tree. ---> (Inversion) Under a tree sat a man. OK!

A man was sitting under a tree. ---> (Inversion) Under a tree was sitting a man. (?)

Is the second inversion accepted grammatically?

TTiger

 

[Raymott]

They're very unlikely. "Under the tree sat a man" is better. It means that you've already introduced the tree into your story. This also applies to the second sentence - strange, but acceptable if the wider context calls for it.

Your originals are grammatical. You could say, "I looked out the window at the park, and noticed that under a tree was sitting a man." But almost everyone would say, "... and noticed a man sitting under a tree."