Emphasis Emphasis is one of the most important means of commanding the reader’s attention. It is often achieved by using word-order which is unexpected, out of the ordinary, and untypical of any colloquial register. Obviously it is not be overused, 1. Deviation from the Expected Word-order ‘Sometimes emphasis can be achieved merely by a deviation from the expected word-order, as in the following pairs: A. The tension mounted slowly. ‘Slowly the tension mounted. B. Those who find homes are lucky. Lucky are those who find homes. C. Isat there sullen and withdrawn. There I sat, sullen and withdrawn D. It would be better to change the construction altogether. Better would be to change the construction altogether, E, The Kurds were told to rise against Saddam. They did so, and now they have been betrayed. ‘The Kurds were told to rise against Saddam. That they did, and now they have been betrayed. Not the slightest sound came from the audience From the audience came not the slightest sound, G. He did not pay her the slightest attention. He paid her nor the slightest attention. H. Notwithstanding our economic difficulties, life in our country continues. Our economic difficulties notwithstanding, life in our country continues, 1. The Sogdians were historically insignificant, so we can leave these Persians (if they were in fact Persians) until a later chapter. The Sogdians were historically insignificant, so we can leave these Persians, if such they were, until a later chapter. J. The general was expecting the rebels to attack, and they did attack. ‘The general was expecting the rebels to attack, and attack they did. K. “That nice gentleman is Ernest Hemingway”, she whispered. He was certainly Ernest Hemingway, but he was not nice. “That nice gentleman is Emest Hemingway”, she whispered. Ernest Hemingway he was. Nice he was not. L. Europe has been transformed. ‘The Warsaw Pact is gone. Europe has been transformed. Gone is the Warsaw Pact. M, As the pollution is heavy, it will be a big task cleaning up the coastline. Heavy as the pollution is, it will be a big task cleaning up the coastline. N. Though the city is charming, it does have its disadvantages. Charming though the city is, it does have its disadvantages. cot: Charming as the city i... or: However charming the city is. ©. Although he wanted very much to study, he had to go out and support the family. Much as he wanted to study, he had to go out and support the family. P. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find the place on the map. Try as he might, he could not find the place on the map. Q. The problem is so difficult that a solution is many years off. So difficult is the problem that a solution is many years off. In all of the sentences except G and H emphasis is achieved by bringing the things to be emphasised (slowly, lucky, there, better, that, from the audience, such, attack, nice, gone, heavy, charming, much, try, 0 difficult) to the front. In sentence I the words if they were in fact Persians have been transformed into the phrase if such they were. 5 — Engi, 65In sentence O the words Although... very much have been transformed into the phrase Much as. In sentence P the words No matter how hard he tried have been transformed into Try as he might. Tn sentences similar to N the words as and though are not completely interchangeable: sometimes the use of as may give rise to ambiguity, To be on the safe side, it is better to use though with such sentences all the time. ‘A much less common syntactic pattern is to place the word to be emphasised at the end. Thus, if one takes the sentence ‘There are many causes of Rome’s fall. the preferred form of emphasis is to put the word many at the end: ‘The causes of Rome's fall are many. This syntactic pattern is, however, generally limited to the words few, many, and several, and to possessive adjectives (see below, p. 69). ‘This last example might be found in the introductory or concluding sentences of a paragraph or essay, and it is in such places that emphatic constructions are especially appropriate. Anyone reading sentence B (Lucky are those who find homes.) would naturally expect the ensuing sentences to explain why or how they are lucky. Similarly. sentence K (Nice he was not.) would be typical in an essay that is about to present a character-assassination of Hemingway. Even when they are not in introductions or conclusions, such sentences are very often explained, illustrated, or generally enlarged upon by subsequent sentences. Thus sentence J (...and attack they did.) could naturally be expected to introduce a description of the rebels’ attack. ‘Suggested Exercises (21): Make the following sentences more emphatic (sometimes the words to be emphasised are in italics): 1. Though it may sound incredible, this is what actually happened. 66 Some people think that the book is not only well written but brilliant as well. The book és well written; itis nor brilliant. We have called Chinghis “king”, and in fact he now was a king, The disease strikes its victims down so quickly that children who were playing in the morning may be dead in the afternoon. Though it is Jovely here, I do not want to stay. . There are few trains at that time of the day. ‘The army begged Alexander to turn back. He refused to do that, and he did not listen to his mother’s entreaties. 8. Though they are dull-witted, they are not totally incapable of instruction. 9. The Government wished this trading in missile technology to continue. 10. i. 12. 13. 14 Is. 16. V7. 18, 19, 20. 2 22, 23, 24, So, it continued, right up to the invasion of Kuwait. He is not charismatic, but he radiates honesty and reliability. Though it is good, it still fails to satisfy the highest criteria, The audience were there to see Nijinsky dance, and he danced, They have been so persuasive that they have won over many people. Father is working again. He is not Jazy, that is certain, ‘They had to supplement their food supply. They did ¢his by hunting. To attain her objectives she needed to murder and she did indeed murder. (Leave out “indeed”.) Although he tried very hard, he could make no progress. In June 1957 Toth informed his superiors that I was “a British intelligence officer who slandered Hungary in the London press.” I never was an officer: 1 was just a simple journalist. Though it seems odd, he was actually a very good musician. ‘That is all that I remember. I cannot say anything more. Little kindness was shown by the teachers; there was brutality in abundance. Although the place appealed to him very much, it did not stop him from becoming depressed. As he was @ good organiser, he had made all the necessary arrangements long in advance. To civilised neighbours the nomads always appeared to live a free and happy life on the wide expanses of the steppes. They were not free, their very wanderings being bound by strict rules. 6725, 26. 27. ;. The vampire’s eyes were bright and piercing: its hair was brown 29. 30. 31 32, 33, 34. 36. 36. 37. 38, 39, 4 2. 68 ‘Though the cutbacks are traumatic to Chrysler employees, they have absolutely overwhelmed Wall Street analysts. But back to Abdullah junior. He is not Sinatra, nor ever will be, but there ‘are worse disasters in this world than not being Frankie-boy. ‘Those few who reach America are fortunate. and its face was brown; its body was pale and skeletal; it had no blood at all. ‘Thus Madrid has plenty of disadvantages. It is not ‘Romantic Spain’, but it does evoke an extreme, sometimes delirious attachment. ‘They needed suppressing and they would be suppressed. To conclude, it is hard to find arguments against disestablishing the Church of England. It should certainly be disestablished. Otherwise it will forfeit any claim to moral authority. T understand your argument, but I don't agree with it. ‘The nature of that party is such that any reform of it is impossible. My ministry sometimes takes exceptional measures: we make short-term loans available to struggling enterprises. We certainly do that. At first the student may feel that this is all that really matters. It certainly does matter, but it should be stressed that other aspects need to be taken into consideration as wel. ‘They regarded trade as being sordid and ignoble; they considered fighting together a path to glory. ‘Though it may seem surprising, they are not the worst. Category B prisoners come next. ‘Though they are violent, they are still preferable to the others. ‘Murders do not happen too frequently. Cases of children being introduced to a criminal way of life are, however, very common. Islam tried to conquer the world. It failed to do that, but it did lead to the founding of a new society. ‘Though the influence of classical music was great, it was Celtic folk tradition that was all-important for him. . There must be taxes. There must be taxes. But we must be careful they do not act as a disincentive. |. There are several reasons for this behaviour. Before the war Yugoslavia was well on its way to western-style prosperity. The large private houses overlooking the roadside hills were most impressive. 46, They believed in being top dogs and they were top dogs. 47, Af they had heard anything — and they must be hearing something — then it was not discernible from their postures. 48. The suggestion that the king of Saudi Arabia sent the Conservatives 10 million dollars is ludicrous. The suggestion that the sultan of Brunei sent us an enormous donation is equally ludicrous. 49. If you remove that, you will remove the last remaining safeguard of democracy, 2. Emphasis by Means of Possessive Words ‘The following are particular kinds of deviation from the expected word-order. Again, these syntactic patterns are to be used sparingly. AL. It is their decision, The decision is theirs. 2. They are your words. ‘The words are yours. B. They write down every word of his. They write down his every word. N.B. ‘his (her etc.) every word’ has a rather formal, even literary ring to it. The construction is found only with every. C. This is also the place to draw attention to another useful construction, occurring in the following example: Our greatest writer lived a century ago. His was a life of hardship and persecution, and yet he lived to see his country liberated. (Cf. the more usual: His life was one of hardship....) Suggested Exercises (22): ‘Make the following sentences more emphatic by means of the syntactic patterns described above: 1. Their situation was hopeless in the extreme. 2. Our country is not normal. 3. Her family was hardly an ordinary one. 4, Twould not wish his fate as my own. 695. It was basically her problem, 6. He was looked upon as an intelligent man, but his intelligence was very peculiar. 7. His genius was far from being purely destructive. . Our area is particularly important. 9. Their depth of feeling is authentic. 10. Itis his decision, 11. His achievement was magnificent. 12, Our predicament is unique. 13, They would refuse all her requests. 14, Our society is increasingly hypocritical. 15. My generation was the first one to question this, 16. Her case is not an isolated one. 17. His study is the first serious one of Rasputin 3. Inversion after Negative Expressions and ‘Only’ Negative inversion is one of the ways to achieve emphasis. By placing any of the following words and phrases at the beginning, the word-order may be inverted: 1. On no account On no account is this medicine to be taken with alcohol. (Cf. the less emphatic: This medicine is on no account to be taken with alcohol.) 2. Under no circumstances Under no circumstances is a reapplication possible. 3. In no way Inno way can the veracity of this account be called into question. (CE. the less emphatic: The veracity of this account can in no way be called into question.) 4. Nowhere Nowhere will you find more interesting conditions. '. At no time, Not (even) once, Never once, Never before, Never again a. At no time was the president aware of this scheme, (CE. the less emphatic: The president was never at any time aware of this scheme.) b. Never once (Not once) did he complain. (CE. the less emphatic: He did not complain even once.) 70 1 8. 10. Never before have | encountered such incompetence. Never again was she to sce her children. (CE. the less emphatic: She was never again to see her children.) N.B. The word never cannot on its own result in an inversion of the word-order. Thus you cannot say, “Never could I be a yuppie”, “Never would I say that one is better than the other” etc. - Seldom, Rarely; Hardly/Scarcely ever Seldom has such a beautiful specimen been found in these parts. (Cf. the less emphatic: Such a beautiful specimen has seldom ever been found...) Hardly ever were the predictions justified. Hardly... when..., Scarcely... when... Hardly had the book appeared when it was attacked in the press. (CL. the less emphatic: The book had hardly appeared when it was attacked in the press.) No sooner... than. No sooner had the scandal died down than another one flared up. (Ch. the less emphatic: The scandal had no sooner died down than an- “other one flared up.) .. Not only... also... ‘Not only is he misguided: he is also dishonest (CE. the less emphatic: He is not only misguided but also dishonest.) Neither/Nor Teachers are not to miss classes; nor are they to be unpunctual (C& the less emphatic: Teachers are neither to miss classes nor to be unpunctual.) |. Little ‘a. Little did she realise that she had made a major breakthrough in medicine, (Cf. the less emphatic: She did not realise that... .) Little did she know that the wicked stepmother was planning to poison her. NB. This construction is very typical of narrative, and in particular of children’s tales. Only | Only after a considerable time will the effects become apparent. Only in a few countries és environmental pollution not a significant problem. Only in this way can the problem be solved. |. Nurses must be better paid. Only then will their motivation increase. .” Only by logical reasoning ean the problem be solved. CE. the less emphatic: The effects will become apparent only after «a considerable time etc. nSuggested Exercises (23): Make the following sentences more emphatic by means of the syntactic patterns described above: 1. This thought did not cross her mind even once. 2. They were no sooner released by order of the court than they were rearrested by the police. 3. He did not understand the complexities of the situation or its. dangers. He understood the weakness of his own position least of all. 4, He is not only a buffoon: he is a dangerous buffoon. 5. One can become accomplished in this art only after many years of determined application. 6. Such people must in no way be antagonised 4. It is (was)... who (that)... Especially relevant for writers of good English are certain words and expressions which offer an opportunity to change the word-order, above all the word-pattern it is (was)... who (that).... Consider the following branching sentence: on the orders of Stalin —— in Mexico City ~~ on August 20, 1940 Leon Trotsky was assassinated In a biography of Trotsky he would, as here, be regarded as the most important element of the sentence and put in the subject position, namely the very beginning, If, however, the sentence occurred ina book about Stalin, we would probably find a different word-order: ‘Stalin ordered the assassination, or: It was Stalin who (that) ordered. And if this event were recorded in a book about Mexico City, we might order the sentence thus: It was also in Mexico City that the assassination took place of Leon Trotsky. 2 And if this event were recorded in some Book of the Year, we might order the sentence thus: t was in August of that same year that the assassination took place of Leon Trotsky.. Suggested Exercises (24): Make the following sentences more emphatic by means of the syntactic pattern described above: Jack ought to apologize, not Jill. . I saw him again only after many years. . Tom made the decision, not Jerry. At that moment gunfire was heard . Medical science deserves all the credit. ‘The principle of the “balance of terror” prevented war. 5. What... is (was)... The thing that... is (was). There also exists a somewhat similar construction, one widely used in English. Instead of writing a sentence like: He was fascinated above all by the phenomenon of telepathy. many would prefer to rephrase this as: What fascinated him above all was the phenomenon of telepathy. or: The thing that fascinated him above all was the phenomenon of telepathy, Suggested Exercises (25): Make the following sentences more emphatic by means of the syntactic pattern described above: 1. We want greater democracy on the campus. 2. We're not saying that the situation will improve overnight; we're saying that these are the right policies to pull the country out of recession. B43, They don’t deserve kid-glove treatment: they deserve the full rigour of the law. 4, He liked writing vitriolic reviews of his colleagues’ books more than anything els. 5. We do not expect you to know everything; we would, however, like you to learn the basics. 6. Llike his attitude more than anything, 7. These latest revelations do not show that the Government's financial sources are immoral: they show that the Government's finances are subject to a certain imbalance in political funding. 6. Resumptive Use of ‘this’ or ‘these’ ‘The following construction is rarely used — and even then in rather exalted contexts; nonetheless, it is useful to know: ‘The Yuan period in China, Moghul art and literature in India and Persia, these have given treasures to humanity which will remain forever precious. ‘Suggested Exercise (26): Restructure the following sentence in a similar way: ‘The will to change the world, to make it different or even better, to do things differently, to create new priorities, is what characterises the way of thinking of each new generation. 7. Climactic Word-order ‘Compare the following two sentences: Quality and quantity are the only ingredients necessary for a good meal. For a good meal only two ingredients are necessary — quality and ‘quantity In the second sentence the effect is achieved by putting the element to be emphasised at the end, and separated by a dash. 4 ‘8. Abrupt Sentence-Alternations The following rhetorical device is occasionally met with: Liberalism believes that poverty and social injustice cause crime. They do not. Conservatism teaches that potential criminals can be deterred by harsh penalties. They cannot. Here the effect consists in abrupt alternations of long and laconically short sentences. ‘Suggested Exercises (27): Try to make the following sentences more emphatic, using any of the syntactic patterns described above (italics are given for guidance): His childhood was singularly unhappy. T have seldom read a more enjoyable book. . Such people deserve the most exemplary punishments. She ought to know that. Their view of the world is deeply pessimistic. 5. She liked sailing most of all ‘She never complained even once. Why should I reform myself? You should reform yourself! 9. Though I enjoy his writings very much, he is not my favourite author. 10. Our part of the world is very beautiful 11, He never apologised even once. 12, He little realised that he was entering a trap. 13, John stole the money. (I did not steal it) 14, It is basically your responsibility. 15. The night drew on imperceptibly. 16. The dose may be exceeded under no circumstances. 17. As he was a good general, he lost no time in occupying all the strategic points around. 18. He had litle idea that his best friend was against him. 19. Environmental protection is adequate only in a few countries, 20. In watching a boxing match, it is silly to ask why the boxers are there. The reasons why the spectators are there are far more disturbing. 1521. Their names are the only Armenian ones in the cemetery. 22. The desperation of the people in the besieged town is such that cannibalism is rife. 23. All three of the JFK-biographers tend towards hostlit Ellen Wayne is guiltiest of this. 24, That nati 25. The Bosnian Serbs have never given this goal up at any time. 26. The night belongs to as. 27. She seemed to be the mother of all the accused — her looks, her smile were so full of tender anxiety. Though it may seem strange, she had received the police with pistol shots and had wounded one of them in the head. 28. The Greeks’ unbroken descent from Homer, Plato, and Alexander sets them apart; they have a higher civilisation, a loftier destiny. 29, had never seen anyone more grotesque than this Sumo-wrestler in my entire life. 30. The concept of death needs to be redefined, and it is redefined: in the teachings of the Orthodox Church. 31. To quote the Bil 32. Now he gave the order. 33. She was in no way informed of what was happening. 34. He had the ordinary condition of a condemned man, resembling a deep stupor. 35. The solution to the Bosnian problem has two components — air strikes and ground forces. NATO certainly has one component, namely air strikes. It does not, however, have the readiness to commit ground forces. to their subject. n has a characteristic tendency to exclude foreigners. “Vengeance belongs to me.” 36. “A beautiful, simple solution,” said the doctor, pointing to his suicide-kit It may be simple, but it raises the horrifying spectre of abuse of assisted suicide. 37. The disease of loneliness is more devastating than malaria, fevers or dysentery. 38. Many old colleagues of mine were already MPs or even ministers. And I was here, trekking across endless deserts in search of a few pathetic human remnants, 39. Very rich, very thin people give me migraine. I can just about cope with the rich, famous and fat, but I have major problems with the seriously slim variety. 16 40. a. 2. 8. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. But he doesn’t include this wonderful anecdote, After all, his book is a serious one. ‘The conversation was in Swahili, and I did not understand a word, I suddenly felt that, though it was a sad truth, | had been more at home back there in the desert than here now. The problem facing the G7 is not the amount of money to be found. Though it is a large amount, the G7 recognises that the money can be found. On the way to the gallows the country showed signs of spring. But the condemned noticed nothing of all this. We Americans despised the South Vietnamese soldiers for their cowardice. We held the North Vietnamese in high esteem. One newspaper has declared the referendum-result a victory (if indeed it was a victory). ‘The Government considers the restructuring of this branch of industry, as well as its privatisation, one of its priorities. ‘Thus Mazdaism was gaining new adherents. The spread of Christianity, however, was more significant. The love of the working people for Lenin, for his genius, is boundless; their respect for everything connected with his life is infinite.