C1.

1 - UNIT 10
GRAMMAR
EMPHASIS

There are several ways to emphasise in English in order to give strong advice,
express our opinions firmly, show disagreement, concern, etc. In other levels, you
studied that we can add the verb ‘do’, for example, to emphasise.

​ o ​admit cheating in the exam.

Id

Now, let’s learn other ways to emphasise.

FRONTING

We can emphasise a specific part of a sentence by simply moving it to the front of

the sentence, changing the usual word order:

We see learning languages as a

Learning languages we see as a
fundamental part of a child’s education
→ fundamental part of a child’s education
these days.
these days. ​(Fronting of object)

That he completely denied. ​(Fronting of

He completely denied that. →
object)

They had been seeing each other for For some time they had been seeing
some time before anyone found out → each other before anyone found out
about it. about it. ​(Fronting of the adverbial)

‘Fronting’ involves moving parts of a sentence to the front in order to start with the
most important information, give an emphatic contrast with the previous sentence

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and provide a link with what came before by putting known information at the front of
the sentence.

What we’re going to see in the fair​ I don’t know.

​ very expensive smartphone ​it was.

I bought a new smartphone. And a

Strange people​ they are!

When the fronting involves a prepositional phrase (on the corner, in front of me, etc.)
we often change the order of the subject and the verb.

On the corner​ was her new pub.

However, we don’t invert the subject and verb if the subject is a pronoun or
with time phrases:

Here stands her picture. Here it stands. *​ ​Here stands it.

* ​At nine o’clock began the show.

EMPHASIS USING NEGATIVE INTRODUCTORY EXPRESSIONS

The following ​negative introductory expressions can be placed at the beginning of

a sentence for emphasis. In these cases, ​the subject and the verb are inverted
and we use the verb ​do if there is no auxiliary​. Let’s study these expressions and
examples.

● little, never, rarely, scarcely

Little ​did we know that she had already left home.

​ ad I experienced this pain.

Never h

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 ● no sooner … than

No sooner​ had I left home ​than i​ t started to rain.

● barely / hardly … when

Barely​ had they begun to sleep ​when​ my wife rang.

● at no time, under no circumstances, on no account, no way

Under no circumstances​ should you let anyone in.

​ ill I lend it to you!​ (informal)

No way w

● not since, not for, not a (person / thing), not only… (but also)

Not since ​the 80s have they had another hit.

Not only ​does it affect you, ​(but) i​ t ​(also)​ affects me.

● only + time expression or prepositional phrase

Only after all these years​ can I speak to him again.

Only when we had that coffee​ together did I realise I didn’t love him anymore.

● so, neither, nor (when they are used to make a short, inverted response to
agree with somebody)

‘I have to say that I am not a fan of Chinese food.’

​ or a
‘N ​ m I.’ (N
​ either​ am I)

‘I really love a good curry.’

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 ​ o​ do I.’
‘S

‘I am going to the Oasis concert next month.’

​ o​ am I.’
‘S

Alternatively, you can say statements of the following kind.

​ o​ do I.’
‘Jonathan normally goes shopping for clothes in London and s

​ either ​do they.’ (or ‘nor do they.’)

‘I don’t really mind staying in at weekends and n

DEFENDING YOUR ARGUMENTS AND IDEAS

‘Never before in the field of ‘Friends, Romans,

‘I came, I saw, I
human conflict was so much countrymen, lend me
conquered.’
owed, by so many, to so few.’ your ears.’

Julius Caesar
Winston Churchill William Shakespeare

What do these three quotes have in common?

The writers of probably the three most famous speeches ever written, all had the
same intention: to convince the listener. But how did they do it? It’s a question of
mathematics rather than linguistics. The number three has a strong significance in
our lives. It is known as ‘the power of three’. We are born, we live and we die. Past,

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present and future. In practically all of the well-known religions, the number three is
significant in some way. Traffic lights change from green to amber and then to red, a
sequence of three. When we are going to start a race or about to all jump together,
for example, into a swimming pool or a similar activity, we either count up or we
count down 3, 2, 1 or 1, 2, 3! There are many more coincidences and life laws that
involve the number three, but more importantly for the following exercise, we need to
understand how to use it in conversation and written English in order to defend your
arguments and put emphasis on the points you wish to make.

Let’s take another look at the quotes in more detail.

‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’

Not only did Julius Caesar come to each land, not only did he see each land, but he
also conquered each land. The emphasis lays on conquering everywhere he dared
to go.

‘Never before in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to
so few.’

Winston Churchill first made this speech during the Second World War to
commemorate the efforts of the RAF pilots that had fought in the battle of Britain,
also known as ‘the few’. He wanted to emphasise how important the pilots' efforts
were so that they never be forgotten. He, therefore, wrote in a series of three main
points, putting the most significant last. It worked because every year in the UK his
words are repeated in the war memorial ceremonies to remember not only those
few, but also all the people that fought in the Second World War.

‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.’

One of Shakespeare's most famous plays was ​Julius Caesar and one of the most
dramatic parts of the play were the two speeches delivered to the Romans by Brutus
and by Marco Antonio. Brutus wanted to convince the people of Rome that his Uncle
Julius was a traitor and his death was not at all in vain, whereas, on the contrary,
Marco Antonio, the underdog and close ​confidant of Julius Caesar, had to find a way
to convince the people of Rome that his friend always did everything in his power to
be a true ambassador and conqueror. Let’s analyse the two speeches.

Brutus started with:

‘Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my

cause, and be silent, that you may hear: Believe me

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 for mine honour…’

Whereas Marc Anthony not only made a humble call to his friends (that you can
count on one hand) and his fellow Romans, but also the countrymen, the vast
majority and, as we know, in all political manoeuvres, the majority vote is what
counts. Not only did he think of who, but also of how. He didn’t instruct the people
like Brutus when he says: ‘Be silent.’ Instead, he politely asked them to ‘lend’ him
their ears, thereby giving back the power to the people to decide for themselves and
emphasis his humility over the ego of Marc Anthony.

It’s a bit like linguistic boxing. The first two arguments must be like two short jabs and
then the final knockout punch is the most important thing. ‘I came, I saw, I
conquered!’ Jab, jab, knockout.

The use of adverbs when using this technique is also ​really effective. Here are some
examples:

Our trip to London was awesome. The weather was nice ¹, the people were friendly ²
and the theatre shows were ​absolutely​ breathtaking ³!

The models at Paris fashion week were chic ¹, elegant ² and r​ eally​ gorgeous ³!

Not only did we got lost ¹, we also missed the last bus ² and, on top of that, it was
​ bsolutely​ freezing ³.​
also a

Use the power of three to defend your ideas and arguments! If, moreover, you use
the techniques that you’ve just studied before to emphasise your speech, be sure
that you will convince anyone of anything.