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
sentence 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.)

Verbs followed by the past tense

It’s high/about time… Now if you feel that it is already late for something to happen, you can use the
expression ‘It’s high/about time…’ This structure might look unusual, because it uses a past tense form to talk
about the present or future. In fact, past tenses are used to talk about the present / future in many phrases
with time.

 It’s high time you got that car repaired.

 It’s time you got that car repaired. (This pattern shows a little less urgency.)
 It’s about time you got that car repaired.
 It’s high time we bought a new car.

For the present time

It’s (high/about) time + past subjunctive

It’s about time you stopped smoking.

We are suggesting something in the present moment; yet, we believe that it should have already happened by
now.

For the past Time

It was (high/about) time + past perfect subjunctive

It was time you had told him the truth when you had the chance last night.

Note that these expressions are mainly used in formal contexts.

We use WISH to say that we would like things to be different from what they are,

1. When we have regrets about the present situation we use the simple past structure.

 I wish I was rich.
 He wishes he lived in Paris.
 I never get invited to parties. I wish I got invited to parties.
 It's raining. I wish it wasn't raining.

2. When we have regrets about a past situation we use the past perfect structure.

 I went to see the latest Star Wars film. I wish I hadn't gone.

 I've eaten too much. I wish I hadn't eaten so much.

3. When we want another person or thing to be different in the present we use would.

 He won't help me. I wish he would help me.

  You're making too much noise. I wish you would be quiet.
 You keep interrupting me. I wish you wouldn't do that.

Exercises
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 Julie burst into the house.

1. John had never been to such a fantastic restaurant.

_________________________________________________________
2. I in no way want to be associated with this project.
_________________________________________________________
3. They had no sooner eaten dinner than the ceiling crashed onto the dining table.
_________________________________________________________
4. I had scarcely finished writing my essay when the examiner announced the end of the exam.
_________________________________________________________
5. I seldom leave my house so early. _________________________________________________________
6. People rarely appreciate this musician’s talent.
_________________________________________________________
7. We would understand what had happened that night only later.
_________________________________________________________
8. They had met such rude people nowhere before.
_________________________________________________________
9. He understood little about the situation.
_________________________________________________________
10. The children should on no account go on their own.
_________________________________________________________
KEYS
1. Never had John been to such a fantastic restaurant.

2. In no way do I want to be associated with this project.

3. No sooner had they eaten dinner than the ceiling crashed onto the dining table.

4. Scarcely had I finished writing my essay when the examiner announced the end of the exam.

5. Seldom do I leave my house so early.

6. Rarely do people appreciate this musician’s talent.

7. Only later would we understand what had happened that night.

8. Nowhere had they met such rude people before.

9. Little did he understand about the situation.

10. On no account should the children go on their own.

Put the appropriate verb form

1 I wish I ___________________ drunk and kissed Samantha. (get NEGATIVE)
2 I wish it ___________________ so much. The garden's turned to mud. (rain NEGATIVE)
3 I wish it ___________________ more often in Valencia. (rain)
4 I wish I ___________________ to go to your nephew's wedding. (have NEGATIVE)
5 I wish you ___________________ so much. You're a complete idiot when you're drunk. (drink )
6 I wish you ___________________ so horrible to your brother. He's a really nice bloke. (be NEGATIVE)
7 I wish the council ___________________ that beautiful old house. It was part of the town's heritage.
(demolish NEGATIVE)
8 I wish I ___________________ her she'd put on weight. She hates me now. (tell NEGATIVE)
9 I wish you ___________________ to your mother like that. (speak NEGATIVE)
10 I wish Jorge ___________________ so fast. It's only a matter of time before he kills someone. (drive
NEGATIVE)

Complete the exercises below by placing the grammatically correct verb from the list in each gap.
Remember: You will need to change verb tense.
start / eat / finish / stop / pay / speak / realise/ get / go / be

1 It's high time we __________ home.

2 It's about time you __________ to study harder.
3 It's time you __________ to your parents about the problem.
4 It's about time you __________ staying out so late.
5 It's time you __________ your assignmment.
6 It's high time you __________ more exercise.
7 It's about time we __________ more sensibly.
8 It's high time you __________ more polite.
9 It's time you __________ a visit to your friend.
10 It's about time we __________ we can't finish the project on time.