INVERSION 1

PATTERN EXAMPLE

When a sentence begins with

Never, Hardly, Hardly ever, Rarely, 1. Seldom have I watched a better match.
Seldom, Little … 2. Little did I know about their plan.

Only then 1. Not only did Harry miss the train, but he also lost his case.
2. Under no circumstances should you touch these wires.
Not once, Not only

Under no circumstances,
On no account, On no condition
At no time, In no way

Only after, 1. Only after posting the letter did I remember that I had
Only when / if, forgotten to put on a stamp.
Not until
2. Not until I got home did I notice that I had the wrong
umbrella.

No sooner … than 1. No sooner had I left the office than Bill phoned me.
Hardly / Barely / Scarcely … when 2. Hardly had I left the office when Bill phoned me.

Adverbs of place 1. Here comes Jack!

(with COME and GO) 2. There goes my bus!
3. Down comes the rain!

Adverbs of place 1. In this house lived Charles Dickens.

(with LIVE and STAND) 2. On a hill outside the town stands the castle.

NOW Now is the best time to visit the Channel Islands.

(with BE)

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 INVERSION 1
I. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same.
1. Tony was not only late, but he had left all his books behind.
Not only _________________________________________________________________________.
2. I had no sooner gone to bed than someone rang my doorbell.
No sooner _______________________________________________________________________.
3. I have seldom stayed in a worse hotel.
Seldom _________________________________________________________________________.
4. I have never heard such nonsense.
Never ___________________________________________________________________________.
5. I realised only then that I had lost my keys.
Only then ________________________________________________________________________.
6. The economic situation has rarely been worse.
Rarely __________________________________________________________________________.
7. The manager not once offered us an apology.
Not once ________________________________________________________________________.
8. You should not send money to us by post under any circumstances.
Under no circumstances ____________________________________________________________.
9. I understood Hamlet only after seeing it on the stage.
Only after seeing Hamlet ____________________________________________________________.
10. The embassy staff little realised that Ted was a secret agent.
Little ____________________________________________________________________________.

II. Rewrite each sentence so that it begins with the word or words in italics.
1. The best time to buy a house is now.
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. The bus came round the corner.
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The price of petrol went up.
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. The Parthenon stands on the top of the Acropolis.
________________________________________________________________________________.
5. The wheels of the engine went round and round.
________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Winston Churchill lived in this house.
________________________________________________________________________________.
7. The flag went down.
________________________________________________________________________________.
8. The best part of the story comes now.
________________________________________________________________________________.

III. Decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.

ASKING FOR ADVICE
You don't happen to know how this computer works, (1) ______? (2) ______ had I bought it (3) ______ I
regretted spending so much money! I haven't even got an instruction manual. (4) ______ did I completely fail
to understand the instructions, (5) ______ then I accidentally threw the manual away. Now I'll never
understand it, (6) ______, I said to myself. (7) ______ my weekend, I thought, but then I remembered you.
You've done a course on computers, (8) ______?
Let's look at it together, (9) ______, and try to understand it. You press this button first, (10) ______? Then
(11) ______ this little light, and a message that says 'Error'. It shouldn't do that, (12) ______? You can fix it,
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(13) ______? Don't do that! This label says: '(14) ______ should an unqualified person remove this panel'. Well,
you are unqualified, (15) ______? What do you mean, do it yourself!

1. A. are you B. is it C. do you D. isn't it

2. A. No sooner B. After C. Not only D. As soon as
3. A. that B. but C. and D. than
4. A. Not only B. Seldom C. Not once D. Only then
5. A. than B. but C. so D. and
6. A. can't I B. won't I C. will I D. can I
7. A. It goes B. Goes it C. Goes there D. There goes
8. A. isn't it B. haven't you C. didn't you D. don't you
9. A. do we B. don't it C. shall we D. aren't we
10. A. don't you B. isn't it C. can't you D. won't you
11. A. on comes B. comes on C. it comes on D. comes it on
12. A. does it B. should it C. shouldn't it D. won't it
13. A. isn't it B. don't you C. can't you D. can't it
14. A. Not only B. Only then C. Never D. Under no circumstances
15. A. isn't it B. are you C. don't you D. aren't you