INVERSION

In written English, as well as in a very formal style, inversion can be used in the following
cases :

 After negative adverbial expressions :

o Under no circumstances can we accept credit cards.
o In no way can he be held responsible.
o At no time did she say she would come.
o At no point was the price mentioned.
o Not until I heard my name did I believe I had won the race.

 After adverbial expressions of place :

o Round the corner came the postman.
o On the doorstep was a bunch of flowers.

 After 'seldom', 'rarely', 'never', and 'little':

o Seldom have I seen such a beautiful view.
o Rarely did he pay anyone a compliment.
o Never had I felt so happy.
o Little did he imagine how dangerous it would be.

 After 'hardly', 'scarcely', 'barely', 'no sooner', when one thing happens after
another.
o Hardly had I begun to speak when I was interrupted.
o Scarcely had we started our meal when the phone rang.
o Barely had they finished the match when the rain started to fall.
o No sooner had I arrived than they all started to argue.

- Note that hardly, scarcely and barely are followed by when.

- No sooner is followed by than.

 After adverbial expressions beginning with 'only' and 'not only' :

o Only after the meeting did I realize the importance of the subject.
o Only when the plane landed safely did he calm down.
o Not only was the car slow, it was also very uncomfortable.

o Not only is she a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.

 Conditionals with inversions

In conditional sentences we can sometimes replace the 'if' with an inversion:
o If I had known it would be so difficult I would never have enrolled.
o Had I known it would be so difficult I would never have enrolled.

 After exclamations with 'here' and 'there' :

o Here comes the winner!
o There goes all our money!
 Double Comparatives
Double comparatives are often employed to underline the importance of doing or not doing a
certain activity. Here are some examples of double comparatives:

The more you study, the more you learn.

The more time you take, the better the assignment your turn in.
The less money I spend, the less I have to worry about saving.
The less you worry about the others, the less they will bother you.

Finally, double comparatives are also used to show a continual increase or decrease.

There are more and more people coming to this vacation spot.
It seems like there is less and less time to spend with the family these days.
Recently, people are finding more and more time to spend with their families.