www.salondeidiomas.

es
@salondeidiomas
670 741 483/910 32 82 62

ADVANCED GRAMMAR
Inversions / passive voice / the more the more / used to / be used to / get used to
1: When we use a negative adverb or adverb phrase at the beginning of the sentence.

Usually, we put the expression at the beginning of the sentence to emphasise what we're saying. It makes our
sentences sound surprising or striking or unusual. It also sounds quite formal. If you don't want to give this impression,
you can put the negative expression later in the sentence in the normal way:

● Seldom have I seen such beautiful work.

('Seldom' is at the beginning, so we use inversion. This sentence emphasizes what beautiful work it is.)
● I have seldom seen such beautiful work.
('Seldom' is in the normal place, so we don't use inversion. This is a normal sentence with no special
emphasis.)
Here are some negative adverbs and adverb phrases that we often use with inversion:
Hardly Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.

Never Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.

Seldom Seldom do we see such an amazing display of dance.

Rarely Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.

Only then Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.

Not only ... but Not only does he love chocolate and sweets but he also smokes.

No sooner No sooner had we arrived home than the police rang the doorbell.

Scarcely Scarcely had I got off the bus when it crashed into the back of a car.

Only later Only later did she really think about the situation.

Nowhere Nowhere have I ever had such bad service.

Little Little did he know!

Only in this way Only in this way could John earn enough money to survive.

In no way In no way do I agree with what you're saying.

On no account On no account should you do anything without asking me first.

 In the following expressions, the inversion comes in the second part of the sentence:
Not until Not until I saw John with my own eyes did I really believe he was safe.

Not since Not since Lucy left college had she had such a wonderful time.

Only after Only after I'd seen her flat did I understand why she wanted to live there.

Only when Only when we'd all arrived home did I feel calm.

Only by Only by working extremely hard could we afford to eat.

We only use inversion when the adverb modifies the whole phrase and not when it modifies the noun: Hardly anyone
passed the exam. (No inversion.)

2: We can use inversion instead of 'if' in conditionals with 'had' 'were' and 'should'. This is quite formal:
● Normal conditional: If I had been there, this problem wouldn't have happened.
● Conditional with inversion: Had I been there, this problem wouldn't have happened.
● Normal conditional: If we had arrived sooner, we could have prevented this tragedy!
● Conditional with inversion: Had we arrived sooner, we could have prevented this tragedy!

3: We can use inversion if we put an adverbial expression of place at the beginning on the sentence. This is also quite
formal or literary:
● On the table was all the money we had lost. (Normal sentence: All the money we had lost was on the table.)
● Round the corner came the knights. (Normal sentence: The knights came round the corner.)
4: We can use inversion after 'so + adjective...that':
● So beautiful was the girl that nobody could talk of anything else. (Normal sentence: the girl was so beautiful
that nobody could talk of anything else.)
● So delicious was the food that we ate every last bite. (Normal sentence: the food was so delicious that we ate
every last bite.)

1 . Change the sentences so that they use inversion.

For example: We had hardly arrived when Julie burst into the house.
→ Hardly had we arrived when ….
John had never been to such a fantastic restaurant.
> Never had John been to ..
I in no way want to be associated with this project.
> In no way do I want to be associated..
They had no sooner eaten dinner than the ceiling crashed onto the dining table.
> No sooner had they eaten …
I had scarcely finished writing my essay when the examiner announced the end of the exam.
> Scarcely had I finished writing..
I seldom leave my house so early.
> Seldom do I leave …
People rarely appreciate this musician’s talent.
> Rarely do people appreciate..
We would understand what had happened that night only later.
> Only later would we understand ..
They had met such rude people nowhere before.
> Nowhere before had they met …
He understood little about the situation.
> Little did he understand about …
The children should on no account go on their own.
> On no account should the children go ..
If I had known things would be like this I wouldn’t have come
Had I known things …
2. Rewrite the sentences in the passive voice
They don't speak English in this shop.
> In this shop isn´t speak English. English isn’t spoken in this shop
Kevin asked Dennis a question.
> A question was asked to Dennis by Kevin
Dennis was asked a question by Kevin
Somebody built the house last year.
>The house was built by somebody last year.
She gives him a box.
> A box is given to him by her.
He was given a box by her
Max will look after him.
> He will be looked at after by Max.
The waiter brought Fred a big steak.
> A big steak was brought to Fred by the waiter
Fred was brought a steak by the waiter
Somebody broke into our bungalow last Friday.
> Our bungalow was broken into by somebody last friday.
The teacher told us a joke.
> A joke was told to us by the teacher.
We were told a joke by the teacher
They will meet Doris at the station.
> Doris will be met by them at the station.
Michael has not sent me the file.
> The file has not been sent to me by Michael.
I have not been sent the file by Michael

3. Complete the sentences.

_______b___________, the more serious the problems become.

a) The more raining it is
b) The more it rains
c) The less it is rain

The older he gets, __________c________ friends he has.

a) the less
b) the fewer
c) the more

The more you pay, _________b_________ the quality is.

a) the more good
b) better
c) the better

_______b___________ mistakes you make, the better your mark is.

a) The less
b) The fewer
c) The more

The more I work, _______c___________ time I spend with my family.

a) the more
b) the fewer
c) the less

The better I know him, _______b___________ I like him.

a) the gooder
b) the more
 c) the fewer

________a__________ candidates there were, the more difficult the exam was.
a) The more
b) The less
c) The fewer

_______b___________ you drive, the more petrol the car uses.

a) The more
b) The more fast
c) The faster

________c__________ she got, the nicer her children became to her.

a) The older
b) The more old
c) The more older

__________b________ I waited, the more furious I got.

a) The fewer
b) The longer
c) The better

The _2___ you study for these exams, the ____ you will do.
1. hard - better
2. harder - more successfully
3. much - better
4. more - good

She doesn't really like vodka, so the __4__ a bottle you find, the ____ it will be for us!
1. small - cheaper
2. smaller - cheap
3. smaller - good
4. smaller - cheaper

My neighbor is driving me mad! It seems that the _1___ it is at night, the ____ he plays his music!
1. later - more loud
2. late - louder
3. later - louder
4. more late - loud

He spent a year in India and loves spicy food. The __4__ the food is, the ____ he likes it.
1. hotter - more
2. hot - much
3. hotter - much
4. hot - more

Of course you can come to the party! The __3__ the ____.
1. more - merrier
2. more - good
3. many - better

She will be really angry about that vase being broken! The __1__ she knows about it, the ____.
1. more - better
2. less - better
3. worse - worse
4. worse - better

He has 6 large dogs to protect his house. The __4__ the dog, the ____ he feels.
 1. big - safer
2. biger - safer
3. bigger - safer
4. more big - more safe

Earning money has always been the thing that pleases him most. The _3___ he becomes, the ____ he is.
1. more rich - happyer
2. richer - happyer
3. richer - happier

You must drive slower in built up areas. The __3__ you drive in the city, the ____ it is that you will have an accident.
1. faster - probable
2. quicker - probably
3. faster - more probably
4. quicker - more probable

4. For each sentence, choose a variety of "used to", "be used to", "get used to" or “would”. Use the verb in the
brackets to make the sentence.

European drivers find it difficult 3…(drive) on the left when they visit Britain.

See that building there? 1… (go) to school there, but now it's a factory.

Do you remember how your Uncle David 1… (sit) in that chair and smoke those disgusting cigars.

I've only been at this company a couple of months. I 2… (still not) how they do things round here.

When I first arrived in this neighbourhood, I 4…wasn’t used to living (live) in a house. I had always lived in apartment
buildings.

Working till 10pm isn't a problem. I 1…2 (finish) late. I did it in my last job too.

For years, they 1… (go) on holiday to the Rockies, but then it became very fashionable and, hence, expensive.

I can't believe they are going to build an airport just two miles from our new house! I will 3… (never) all that noise!
What a nightmare.

His father 1… (smoke) twenty cigars a day - now he doesn't smoke at all!

Whenever all my friends went to discos, I 1…4 (never go) with them, but now I enjoy it.

I 4… 2 (drive) as I have had my driving licence almost a year now.

When Max went to live in Italy, he 3… (live) there very quickly. He's a very open minded person.

Before getting my driving licence, I 1…4 (ride) a bicycle everywhere.

"used to", solía

"be used to", estar acostumbrado
"get used to" acostumbrarse
“would” ía