2D Inversion of subject and verb

1 Put the words into the correct order to make sentences.

1 since Not been the 2008 so has it warm of summer 5 ran So out she that the she scared of was house
Not  . So  .
2 have Never such lies heard I 6 goes There train are and again we our late
Never  . There  .
3 realise we Little he watching that were him did 7 fell onto went it tray as the Crash floor the
Little  . Crash  .
4 know mission did that was Well the impossible I 8 jumped Up grabbed mother phone and the my
Well  . Up  .

2 Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.

1 You are absolutely forbidden from using my phone. (no circumstances)

2 It’s both dangerous and incredibly expensive. (not only is)

3 We never thought that John had taken the necklace. (for one moment)

4 She had just gone to bed when someone knocked on the door. (no sooner)

5 We didn’t like the food and we didn’t like the atmosphere. (nor did)

6 He realised that he had left his wallet at the restaurant when he returned home. (not until)

7 She couldn’t hide anywhere from the approaching soldiers. (nowhere)

8 He’s never spoken to my mother. He’s never spoken to my father, either. (neither)

3 SPEAKING   Work in small groups. Discuss how you can make this story more interesting by using inversion.
Then compare your ideas with another group.

I woke up and immediately opened the curtains. I’d rarely felt so happy before.
The sun was shining so brightly that my head hurt. A scarlet bird flew across
the blue sky. Then I saw something in the corner of the garden. I didn’t know
then that it would change my life forever.

Solutions Third Edition Advanced photocopiable © Oxford University Press

   2D  Inversion of subject SUGGESTED ANSWER
No sooner had I woken up than I opened the curtains.
and verb Rarely had I felt so happy before. So brightly was the sun
shining that my head hurt. Across the sky flew a scarlet
Aims:  To review and practise the use of adverbials at the
bird. Then there came into view something in the corner
start of a sentence.
of the garden. Little did I know then that it would change
Time:  10–15 minutes my life forever.
Materials:  One handout for each student

Exercise 1
• Give each student a handout and ask them to put the
words into the correct order to make sentences. The
first word of each sentence is given. Remind students,
if necessary, that the verb usually follows the adverbial
and then the subject of the sentence.
• Check answers with the class.
KEY
1 Not since the summer of 2008 has it been so warm.
2 Never have I heard such lies.
3 Little did he realise that we were watching him.
4 Well did I know that the mission was impossible.
5 So scared was she that she ran out of the house.
6 There goes our train and again we are late. / There
goes our train and we are late again.
7 Crash went the tray as it fell onto the floor.
8 Up jumped my mother and grabbed the phone.

Exercise 2
• Students work individually or in pairs to rewrite the
sentences. Go through the first sentence with the whole
class, reminding students about the change in word
order.
• Check answers with the class.
KEY
1 Under no circumstances are you to use my phone.
2 Not only is it dangerous, but it’s also incredibly
expensive.
3 Not for one moment did we think that John had taken
the necklace.
4 No sooner had she gone to bed than someone knocked
on the door.
5 We didn’t like the food, nor did we like the atmosphere.
6 Not until he returned home did he realise that he had
left his wallet at the restaurant.
7 Nowhere could she hide from the approaching soldiers.
8 He’s never spoken to my mother, neither has he spoken
to my father.

Exercise 3
• Students work in pairs to discuss how they can rewrite
the story to make it more interesting. Go through the
different ways of inverting subject and verb: using
negative or near negative adverbials, the adverbs well
and little, so that or such that; using words to express
noise; omitting if in conditional clauses.
• Ask one or two pairs of students to read out their
rewritten story to the class.

Solutions
 Third Edition Advanced photocopiable © Oxford University Press