Forming Sentences
What follows on this page may seem heavy going at times but it is absolutely essential that you are able to identify how different types of inversion are formed so it’s important that you work through the exercises with care.
Let’s start with Not only, which is also covered in our lesson on Linking Devices. Not only is a negative adverbial which can be used at the beginning of a sentence to express addition. A sentence without inversion could be something such as:
He speaks French and he speaks Italian.
Below is the same idea but expressed with Not only. Look at the form and drag the parts of speech into the correct box. It’s important to note that the auxiliary would change depending on tense. This example is in the present simple so do/does is used but did would be used in a past simple sentence.
Now have a go at identifying the following which uses the auxiliary be. Again take note that this auxiliary changes depending on tense and that the adverb (also) is placed in a different position.
Not only can also be used with other tenses, such as perfect and future simple. For example:
Not only has he lied, but he has also been very unkind.
Not only will you love the food, but you will also enjoy the architecture of the country.
Let’s now look at how we can use Never (before) to form an inversion with perfect tenses. As above, look at how the following sentences have been reformulated and drag the parts of speech into the correct boxes:
(1) I have never been anywhere so beautiful.
(2) I had never been to a classical concert before last week.
Now do the same for all the following examples, each rewritten with a different type of inversion.
(1) I rarely/seldom watched TV as a child.
(2) I rarely/seldom have time to enjoy myself.
(1) I didn’t go abroad for the first time until 1999 / I didn’t go abroad for the first time until I was 19.
(2) The government won’t introduce changes until 2030 / People won’t be happy until the government makes changes.
(1) I only realised how angry he was when I spoke to him.
(2) I only get any housework done when the kids go to stay with their father.
(3) People will only be happy when changes happen.
(1) He had just hidden the cash when the police arrived.
(2) As soon as he hid the cash, the police arrived.
(1) He didn’t once buy me a birthday present when we were together / He only once bought me a birthday present when we were together.
(2) He has never bought me a birthday present since we’ve been together / He has only bought me a birthday present once since we’ve been together.
(1) You must/should/will not come home later than 10pm under any circumstances.
(2) You are not to come home later than 10pm no matter what.
(1) The food was so bad that I couldn’t eat it.
(2) The extent of the problem is so bad that I don’t think it can be resolved.
(1) If he were a kinder person, I might actually like him.
(2) If he hadn’t lied to her, she wouldn’t have left him.