Inversions

Inversion is a way of changing the normal word order of a sentence. Inversions follow the same
pattern as questions, although they ARE NOT questions. Compare:

Non inverted  He was late and he didn’t apologise.

S V S A V

Inverted  Not only was he late, but he didn’t apologise.  No solamente hizo X, sino que
además..

V S

We use inversion as a means of emphasizing ideas. We tend to use inversion in formal writing. We
invert the auxiliary verb and the subject after these phrases:

 Never have I heard such nonsense!

“NUNCA...”
 Not only was he late, but (also) he didn’t apologise.
“NO SOLAMENTE X, SINO QUE ADEMÁS Y”
 Hardly had the project begun when the problems started. ⚠️
“APENAS X CUANDO Y”
 No sooner had we got to the beach than it started to rain. ⚠️
“APENAS X CUANDO Y”
 Rarely/ Seldom does anyone visit this remote island.
“RARA VEZ”
 Little did I expect to see such a fantastic show
“NO ESPERABA X”
 Only after the guests left did the manager notice that they had forgotten their suitcase. ⚠️
“SOLO CUANDO…”

⚠️Notice that with “only” we invert the verb in the second clause:

<Only after the guests left> < did the manager notice that they had forgotten their suitcase>

S V Aux S V

⚠️We use “than” after “no sooner”:

No sooner had we got to the beach than it started to rain.

⚠️We use “when” after “hardly”:

Hardly had the project begun when the problems started.