Identify common inversions in English

1. How to use inversions

- Sentence inversion often used to emphasize a certain event or subject mentioned in a sentence. Inversion can make our statements more prominent. However, sentence inversion not common in everyday conversations. Native speakers often use it in formal contexts, mainly in writing.

- Sentence anagram is a sentence form that puts the verb (or auxiliary verb) before the subject or anagram.

2. How to create inverted sentences

There are 2 ways to create sentences anagram popular:

- Method 1: use the structure “auxiliary verb/modal verb + subject + main verb”. This is the way you create regular questions.

For example:

• Common sentence:She  cried : S + V

Sentence anagram: Did she cry? : Aux + S + V

- Method 2: put the thing you want to emphasize at the beginning of the sentence.

For example: 

• Not only do I enjoy classical music, but I also enjoy Pop music.

3. Common types of inverted sentences

- Inverted sentences contain negative adverbs:

Overall, sentence anagram is often used to emphasize the specialness of an event and is often prefaced with a negative word.

Word groups: never, rarely, hardly, Little, only, not until, at no time/point no sooner, not only, Under no circumstances

Sentence anagram These adverbials are often used with perfect or modal verbs and contain comparatives.

For example:

• Hardly ever does he speak in the public.

- Groups of combined words after "Only" such as: Only often go with words indicating time.

• Only after, only when, only then, Only once

• Only later

• Only in this way

• Only in that way

• Only then + Auxiliary + S + V

• Only after + N

• Only by V_ing/ N

• Only when + clause

• Only with + N

• Only if+ clause

• Only in adv of time/ place

For example:

• Only then did I understand the problem.

• Only after all guests had gone home could we relax.

- Group of words: So, Such

Sentence anagram containing “So” has the following structure:

So + Adj / Adv + Auxiliary + S + V + that-clause (noun clause)

For example:

• So busy am I that I don't have time to look behind myself.

4. Conditional sentence form containing inversion:

Conditional sentences containing inversion have a more formal tone. In this case, anagram replaces clauses containing “if”.

- Conditional sentence type 1: If-clause = Should +S + V…

For example:

• If the weather is nice tomorrow, we will go camping.

=> Should the weather be nice tomorrow, we will go camping.

- Conditional sentence type 2: If-clause = Were  S + to-V/ Were + S…

For example:

• If I had money, I would buy that car.

=> Were I to have money, I would buy that car.

- Conditional sentence type 3: If-clause = Had + S + V₃

For example:

• If she hadn’t eaten this cake, she wouldn’t have had stomachache.

=> Had she not eaten this cake, she wouldn't have had stomachache.

5. Inversion with NO and NOT:

No + N + Auxiliary + S + Verb (inf)

Not any +  N + Auxiliary +  S + Verb (inf)

For example:

• No books shall I lend you from now on.

= Not any money shall I lend you from now on. (From now on I won't lend you any more books.)

6. Inversion with until

Not until + auxiliary verb + S + V + that + …

For example:

• I won’t come home till 10 o’clock.

• ( = Not until/ till o’clock that I will come home.)

• ( = It is not until 10 o'clock that I will come home.)

7. Inversion describes two actions that happen at the same time and one after another at the same time

No sooner… than/Scarely… when/Hardly… when…. + had + S + PII …+ S + Ved: right after …..

For example:

• No sooner had I arrived home than the telephone rang. (No sooner had I got home than the phone rang.)

8. Inversion form with adverbs of time(With adverbs of time):

Adverb + auxiliary verb + S + V

For example:

• Very often have we tried to do it but we fail.

9. Imageinversion with adverbs of place(With adverbs of place):

Adverb + V + S

For example:

• Here comes the fall. (Fall is here.)

10. Inversion form with with now, thus, then, here, there

Only be anagram when the subject is a noun, do not invert when the subject is a pronoun.

For example:

• There comes the taxi = There it comes.