GRAMMAR II

STRUCTURES USED FOR EMPHASIZING

INVERSION:

We sometimes put a verb or verb phrase in front of the subject after adverbs of place: on, in, here,
there, outside, opposite; and adverbs of time: next, then, first, now, finally. We can use a form of be
or verbs of place and movement: stand, sit, lie, come, go, climb, run, sail, fly before the subject. We
often use this pattern to form a link with the information in the previous sentence and it is common
in formal English.

Here lies the body of our late lamented sovereign.

Opposite stood an ancient oak tree over a charming wishing well.

This structure is NOT used if the subject of the clause is a pronoun.

Here it comes. Here comes it.

We can also use inversion in as and than clauses in formal English.

Mr. Slater is expecting a pay rise, as are several other employees.

I’m afraid her proposals are no more feasible than are those of her colleague’s.

For emphasis we can put an auxiliary: be, do have, should, can before the subject in statements, the
rest of the verb phrase follows the subject.

• After adverbs with ‘restrictive’ negative meaning: hardly, scarcely, rarely, little, never.
Little did we realize the extent of his involvement.
Never have I seen such a disturbing sight.

• Only + time expression or prepositional phrase:

Only later did he manage to get permission.
Only with a great deal of effort was he able to escape.

• (in) no way, at no time, under no circumstances, on no account:

No way am I going to wear that!
Under no circumstances can refunds be given.

• Not + only / time expressions / person or thing:

Not only is he late, he hasn’t even brought a present.
Not a single stone was left untouched in the search.
Not since the sixties has a pop band been so successful.

• No sooner … than
No sooner had we set out tan it started pouring.

• Clauses beginning with neither or nor

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 They have no intention of paying, neither have we.
We couldn’t face the customers and nor could the boss.

• Clauses beginning with may that express a strong wish.

May he live to regret his decision!

• After fronted comparisons also, such and so.

The captain is refusing to play under these conditions and so is the rest of the team.
So happy was he that he danced around the room.
Also in the report was a strong criticism.

• In conditional sentences without if.

Were he here he would help me.
Had I known there was a problem, I would have come earlier.

CLEFT SENTENCES:

It cleft sentences:
A special construction which gives both thematic and focal prominence to a particular element of
the clause is the cleft sentence, so called because it divides a single clause into two separate
sections, each with its own verb. Most cleft sentence statements begin with the pronoun it followed
by the verb be, which in turn is followed by the element on which the focus falls. From a single
clause such as John wore his best suit to the dance last night, it is possible to derive four cleft
sentences, each highlighting a particular element of the clause:

Subject as focus:

It was John who/that wore his best suit to the dance last night.

Direct object as focus:

It was his best suit (that) John wore to the dance last night.

Adverbial of time as focus:

It was last night (that) John wore his best suit to the dance.

Adverbial of place as focus:

It was to the dance that John wore his best suit last night.

The cleft sentence marks the focus of information in written English, where intonation is absent.
The highlighted element has the full implication of contrastive focus where a contrast is inferred
with the other items in the clause.

Apart from the elements we saw in the previous example the two less common clause elements that
can act as the focus of a cleft sentence are the indirect object and complement of the object:

Indirect object as focus:

It was John (that) he gave the book.

But It was John that he gave the book to.

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Or It was to John (that) he gave the book. (John as a prepositional complement is more
likely)

Complement of the object as focus:

It’s dark green that we’ve painted the kitchen.

Wh- clefts: these constructions consist of a clause introduced by a wh- word, usually what; this
clause has its own point of focus, usually at the end of the wh- clause, a form of the verb be and the
specially focused nominal element: a noun phrase or a complement clause.

In the examples below the specially focused element is in bold, and the dependent wh-clause is
placed in ( ):

• Noun phrase

(What I really need) is another credit card.

• Bare infinitive phrase

(What you should do) is label the goods.

• To-infinitive clause

(What he did) was to go to Holy Trinity Church.

Wh-clefts are less flexible than it-clefts in that they cannot be used to focus on a
prepositional phrase:

It is to that boy (that she has remained faithful)

but not: *What she has remained faithful is to that boy.

On the other hand, wh-clefts have an advantage over it-clefts because they have a double
emphasis: they give some emphasis to the opening nominal clause as well as to the element in final
position.

What I would really love is a long hot bath.

What they did was to buy themselves a new house.
What I should do is find myself another job.

FRONTING:

This means placing in initial position a clause element (complement of the subject, objects or
adverbials) which is normally found after the verb. It is relatively rare in English and used in
spoken language to emphasize a particular part of a sentence, perhaps to contradict what someone
else has said or for dramatic effect. We can do this with stress and intonation alone or by changing
the order of the elements in a sentence. It is also common in fiction and academic prose.

‘She’s such a lovely person; so friendly and reliable.’

‘She may be friendly but she isn’t reliable.’ ‘Friendly she may be, but reliable she isn’t.’
I disagree with that. That I disagree with.
His name is Joe. Joe his name is.
In London I was born and in London I’ll die.
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 Really good cocktails they made at that hotel.

We can also use fronting when we want to start a sentence with known information or we want to
make an emphatic comparison with information in a previous sentence, we can use a comparative
or superlative phrase at the beginning with the verb be followed by the subject (inversion).

The first band was dire. Much more exciting was the second group that played.
Many of the monuments are truly fantastic. Best of all is the Coliseum.

Following are some examples of the use of fronting:

type examples description

fronted object 1 This I do not understand. The object of the clause is in

fronted nominal other than
object
fronted predicates
fronted non-finite
constructions
fronting in dependent
clauses that use as or though
2 Why he came this way I
will probably never know.
Whether Nancy was there
or not, she could not be
certain.
1 Far more serious were
the severe head injuries.
2 The larger the base the
easier it will be to perform
the action.
3 So preoccupied was she
that she was unaware that
Diana was standing in the
doorway.
1 I have said he would come
down and come down he
did.
2 Waiting below was
Michael Sams.
3 Enclosed is a card for our
permanent signature file
1 Try as she might to make
it otherwise . . .
2 . . . unsuccessful though
they have been in their
proposals . . .
initial position. Many
different structures occur as
fronted objects, such as
nouns, pronouns (1), and
complement clauses (2).
A nominal structure is in
initial position, such as the
complement to the adjective
certain in the example here
(She could not be certain
whether Nancy was here or
not)
A subject predicative is in
initial position. Many
structures can occur as
fronted predicatives.
Special cases include
proportion clauses with the
(2) and degree clauses with
so …that (3). Some fronted
predicatives occur with
inversion (1, 3)
An infinitive (1), ing-
participle (2) or ed-
participle (3) is in initial
position. Its complements
are fronted with it (e.g.
down in come down). Some
fronted non-finite predicates
occur with inversion (2, 3)
Dependent clauses that use
the subordinator as (1) or
though (2) sometimes have
an element placed before the
subordinator. (1) illustrates
fronting of a main verb and
(2) illustrates fronting of a
predicative.

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