When a negative word or an adverbial phrase of place comes at the beginning of a sentence, the word order is inverted. Learn the inversion patterns that frequently appear on entrance examinations.
Basic Rules
When a negative word is moved to the beginning for emphasis, the word order becomes that of a question (auxiliary verb/be verb + S).
- Never: “Never have I seen such a beautiful sunset.”
- Not until: “Not until midnight did he finish his work.”
- Hardly/Scarcely ... when/before: “Hardly had she arrived when the phone rang.”
- No sooner ... than: “No sooner had he sat down than the bell rang.”
- Only + adverbial (phrase/clause): “Only then did I understand.”
An adverbial phrase of place or direction at the beginning: “On the hill stood an old castle.” ← V + S word order
Never did I expect to win the prize. (I never expected to win the prize.)
Not until he spoke did I recognize him. (I did not recognize him until he spoke.)
Hardly had I closed my eyes when I fell asleep. (I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.)
In front of the building stood two tall trees. (Two tall trees stood in front of the building.)
Points to Note
① With an ordinary verb: add do/does/did and invert the word order. “Never do I eat breakfast.”
② Rewriting with an emphatic construction using Not until: “It was not until midnight that he finished.” = “Not until midnight did he finish.”
③ Tense in Hardly/No sooner: formally, the sentence begins with the past perfect (had + p.p.).
- Negative or شبه-negative words at the beginning → auxiliary/be + S word order
- Never / Not until / Hardly / No sooner cause inversion
- Hardly had S p.p. when + past tense (as soon as ~)
- Adverbial phrase of place at the beginning → V + S (intransitive verb)
Practice
- Rewrite the following sentence with inversion beginning with a negative word: I had never tasted such delicious food before.
- Translate “The phone rang as soon as he got home” into English using No sooner.
- Correct the error: Never I have heard such a strange story.