INVERSION

- when an auxiliary comes before the subject of a clause;

- mainly common in written formal texts.
Ex.: I never saw such a wonderful sight.
[Never did I] see such a wonderful sight.

Types of inversion
1) Negative adverbs
a) hardly/scarcely/barely
I hardly had gone to bed when the telephone rang.
Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.

Hardly had I arrived at the hospital when the doctor called me.

b) never
She had never seen such a beautiful sight before.
Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.

c) seldom/rarely
We seldom see such an amazing display of dance.
Seldom do we see such an amazing display of dance.

You will rarely hear such beautiful music.

Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.

e) only then
I only then understood why the tragedy had happened.
Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.

f) not only ... + but also ...

He loves chocolates and sweets and also smokes.
Not only does he love chocolate and sweets but he also smokes.
Not only did he study a lot for the test but also he helped me.

g) little
He knew little!
Little did he know!

2) Conditionals
a) 1st conditional (“should” = present/future conditionals)
- replace “if” with “should”

If he remembers his own name, we’ll be able to help him.

Should he remember his own name, we’ll be able to help him.

Should I leave home tonight to hang out with my friends, I'll take an umbrella.

b) 2nd conditional (“were" + infinitive)

- replace “if” with “were”
If he pushed the button, we’d all have problems.
Were he [to push] the button, we’d all have problems.

Were I [to win] the lottery, I'd buy a remarkable home to my mother.

c) 3rd conditional ("had")

- delete “if”
If we’d arrived sooner, we wouldn’t have missed the beginning.
Had we arrived sooner, we wouldn’t have missed the beginning.

Had I deeply studied to do the test I took yesterday, I would have done better.