To use inversion in a specific grammatical structure, you put the adverbial (e.g. never, rarely, not only, etc.) at the beginning and change the normal position of the subject and the auxiliary verb. This technique is used for emphasis or to create a more formal tone.
Understanding Adverbial Inversion
In English grammar, inversion often refers to changing the typical subject-verb order. The method described in the reference focuses on a particular type of inversion triggered by certain adverbial phrases placed at the start of a sentence.
The Core Rule
Based on the provided reference, the fundamental rule for this kind of inversion is simple:
- Start the sentence with a specific adverbial (like
never,rarely,not only). - Invert the positions of the subject and the auxiliary verb.
This creates a structure similar to a question, even though the sentence is a statement.
How to Form Adverbial Inversion
Follow these steps to apply the rule:
- Identify the adverbial: Look for phrases that express negation, limitation, or degree, such as never, rarely, seldom, hardly, scarcely, not only, no sooner, little, under no circumstances, on no account, etc.
- Place the adverbial first: Move this phrase to the very beginning of the sentence.
- Find the auxiliary verb: Identify the auxiliary verb (like be, have, do, can, will, should, etc.) in the original sentence. If there isn't one, use the correct form of do (do, does, did) for the main verb.
- Swap auxiliary and subject: Place the auxiliary verb before the subject.
- Keep the main verb: The main verb follows the subject, often in its base form if do is used as the auxiliary.
Example from Reference
Let's look at the example provided to see this in action:
- Original Sentence: "They not only arrived late but they talked throughout the film."
- Adverbial: "Not only"
- Auxiliary/Verb: The main verb is "arrived" (past tense). Since there's no explicit auxiliary, we use "did".
- Subject: "They"
- Applying Inversion: Place "Not only" first. Use "did" as the auxiliary and swap it with the subject "they". The main verb "arrived" becomes the base form "arrive".
| Original Structure | Inverted Structure |
|---|---|
| Subject + Adverbial + Verb/Auxiliary + ... | Adverbial + Auxiliary + Subject + Main Verb + ... |
Thus, the inverted sentence becomes:
Not only did they arrive late but they talked throughout the film.
This structure puts emphasis on the fact that they did two negative things, not just one.
When to Use This Type of Inversion
This specific type of inversion with initial adverbials is typically used:
- In formal writing.
- To add emphasis or dramatic effect.
- With specific negative or restrictive adverbials mentioned earlier (never, rarely, not only, etc.).
By following these steps, you can effectively use this particular method of grammatical inversion.
