Using Inversion
Using Inversion in English
Using inversion in English is a way of changing the information placed at the beginning of a sentence and in this post we will look at a variety of methods we can use to do this. Because it changes the focus on information it can be a very good approach to emphasizing details. It’s also considered a more complex and sophisticated way of combining ideas together as well as beieng considered advanced English grammar.
In this respect it can be a very useful type of structure to organise C1 Advanced formal writing and speaking.
Using Negative Inversion Expressions
There are two types of ways we can use inversion. In this section we look at details of where we change the subject and the auxiliary at the beginning of a sentence following certain types of negative expressions.
The first group of words are negative forms, typically adverbs.
Let’s look at an example
- Rarely/Seldom/Never have I seen such a beautiful sight.
We can also use words or expressions like the following which have a limited or negative meaning with a change in auxilliary verb forms
- Under no circumstances are you to leave the house.
- Little do my parents know about my financial problems.
Finally, we have a group of words where an extra change is required in the sentence because they are fixed expressions.
This group is as follows
- Scarcely/hardly had the train left when it began to rain.
- No sooner had I reached the door than my phone rang.
- Not only is the explanation unclear but it also doesn’t make any sense anyway.
Inversion & Other forms
There is another group of expressions that we can use which are positive but they still have the same effect on the verb, by inverting it.
So/Such
We can use these two words at the beginning of sentences.
So is typically followed by an adjective and such is followed by the verb to be. That is is also part of the second part of the sentence.
- So intense was the heat that it took them hours to put out the fire.
- Such was the demand for tickets that people started queuing the day before.
Conditionals
We can invert conditionals and this makes them much more formal. There are also particular types of conditional structures we tend to use as you can see from the examples below.
- If I had known
- Had I known
- If you called them
- Were you to call them
- If you should need any more information
- Should you need any more information
Swapping Verbs & Nouns
The final method is where we invert or change the position of the nouns and verbs and effectively swap them. This type of style is very useful in something like storytelling and is particularly common with books for very young children. It can have the effect of making text more immediate and possibly exciting.
It is an alternative but at the same time it may not be something that you can use too often in a writing exercise. Here are some examples of it.
- The bus came along.
- Along came the bus.
- The rider rode out with the message in his hand.
- Out rode the rider with the message in his hand.
- My aunt’s friend went on and on about her beautiful garden.
- On and on went my aunt’s friend about her beautiful garden.
Inversion can be a very good way to change focus, to show an ability to use more complex forms and also to demonstrate more variety in your language. Nevertheless, it’s not something that should be used too much as it can make writing very difficult to read. So, it is probably a good thing to consider when you are deciding to use it whether it’s appropriate and useful in that situation. At C1 level it can also be useful to consider expressions for emphasis as well.