Read some comments made by theatre critics about productions of Shakespeare's plays. Which ones are more positive and which are more negative? Rarely have I seen Juliet played more sensitively. Try as | might, | just couldn't make myself like such a modern production of King Lear. What sets this production of The Tempest apart is the extraordinary costume design. Such is the complexity of the plot of Cymbeline that it’s impossible to remember who's doing what and why. It isn’t until Act 2 of Hamlet that the pace really begins to pick up. nN w s wa In pairs, discuss how you could change the word order in comments 1-5, starting with the words below, and changing the bold words if necessary. What difference does this make? 1 Thave... 2 | just couldn't...although... 3 The extraordinary costume design is. 4 The plot of Cymbeline is so... 5 The pace doesn't...word order We can focus attention on one part ofa sentence by changing the normal position of the words we want to emphasize, often to the beginning of the sentence. This frequently changes the grammar ofthe sentence. inversion 1 Never have I felt so disappointed with a production. 2. Under no circumstances should you leave the door unlocked. 3. Only in the last few years have such high temperatures been recorded. ‘Only with sustained pra instrument 4 So loud were the trumpets that they drowned out the rest of the orchestra, Such is the demand that we have issued new tickets had | sat down to eat than there was a knock at 2 will you master a musical 6 Not only did she win the race, but she also set a new record, 7 Little did we know that this would be our last evening together. 8 Only when / Not until the baby had gone to sleep could she work on her novel. ‘+ When we start a sentence with certain words or phrases for ‘emphasis, we need to invert the verb and the subject, adding an auxiliary verb where necessary (.e. as when making a question). This use is formal and literary, and mainly occurs in written language. Common sentence openers that require inversion are: 1 negative frequency expressions: never / rarely / seldom / hardly ever. 2 other negative expressions, e.g. under no circumstances, by no ‘means, inno way, at no time, nowhere. 3 Only followed by adverbs or adverbial / prepositional phrases, e.g. Only in Africa... Only after the exam..., Only by studying..., Only recently. 4 So + adjective / adverb or Such + be (in different tenses) + noun...that + clause. 5 No sooner..than.... and Hardly..when... to describe two actions happening close together. 6 Not only... bt also... to emphasize that there are two important points. 7 Little... think / know / realize, etc. Little does he realize = he certainly does not realize. 8 in sentences beginning Not until or Only if/ when / after + clause, the inversion isin the second clause. cleft sentences 1. What / All wanted was a quiet place to stay fora while. What Susan suggested was that we look fora hotel. 2 What happened was that al the hotels were closed for the season. 3 twas then that we came across an advertisement in a shop window. It was Susan who spotted it fist. 41 We can make some sentences more emphatic by beginning with What / All+ clause + be and then the part ofthe sentence we want to emphasize. 2 To emphasize an event or sequence of events, we can begin with What happens is (that... or What happened was (that). 3 We can also use It is/ was + the emphasized part of the sentence + a relative clause. fronting 1. Happy though | am to see you, | wish you'd let me know you were coming ‘Much as I like music, l object to my neighbour playing the drums after midnight 2 Sitting outside the café was her old friend Jemima, ‘Attached to this email is an application form. 3 We opened the cage and out flew the parrot / out it flew. ‘At the top of the hill stood a big caste. Init lived an evil giant ‘+ Fronting means moving certain words from their normal position to the beginning ofa sentence for emphasis. This use is formal and literary, and mainly occurs in written language. 1 We can front adjectives or adverbs followed by though or as + verb phrase, e.g. Happy though | am to see you= Even though, ''m happy to see you; Much as I like music = Even though | like music. 2 We can algo front present participles or past participles used as adjectives for emphasis. 3 We can start a sentence or phrase with a preposition of movement for dramatic effect, especially in storytelling. The verb comes before a noun subject, but after a pronoun subject. ‘We can use stative verbs with adverbial expressions of place (eg. in the middle of a forest) in a similar way.a Gircldthe correct option. Never again | will eat /@ill | ea at that restaurant. 1 Hardly we had left / had we left the house when it started / did it start to rain. 2. Only by giving it a try you will discover / will you discover whether or not you like it. 3. Such was my astonishment / my astonishment was that | was totally lost for words. 4 Not only she arrived / did she arrive late, but she also forgot / also did she forget to bring her passport. 5 Only if everybody agreed / everybody did agree that | was the right candidate ! would accept / would | accept this position. 6 Inthe house next door lived / did live a very old woman. 7 What | really meant / did really mean was that | didn’t agree with his position. b Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. We had to queue for half an hour before we were given a table. Only after...wwe had queued for half an hour were we given a table. 1. This door should not be opened under any circumstances. Under no circumstances... 2. He certainly didn’t know what was going to happen. Little. 3. I would really like to take a holiday, but | can't afford it right now. Much as... 4 Acomplete stranger was standing on the doorstep. Standing... 5 Although we tried hard to persuade her, she refused to change her mind. Hard... 6 We were so engrossed in the film that we didn't notice the time. So. 7 Only Mark thought it was a good idea. It. 8 A tiny mouse scampered out of the hole. Out... 9 Anna's recommendation was to visit the castle. What... 10. Five nights’ accommodation, all meals, and guided tours are included in the price. Included. 11. She recovered from her cold, but then she immediately went down with measles. No sooner...© These sentences all contain examples of inversion, but each contains a mistake. Gross-out the \correct phrases and rewrite them correctly. 1 It seemed that ne-seoner- my head -hac-hit-the pillow than the buzzer went off and it was time to face another day. no sooner had my head hit the pillow 2 After we crossed a few fields, there it finally was ~ the sea. Never | had before waterfront. And the sand on the beach was an incredible white colour, 3 Not until it was dark they did leave the house. As they wandered up the twisting path that led to the road, they saw something that made them stop dead in their tracks, 4 Such its popularity was that it ran for more than 20 years, and it remains one of the most successful TV .en such a wonderful shows ever, 5 He had been completely in the dark. Only when he asked Katherine about it he realized that something was seriously amiss, 6 There are many restrictions concerning reporting a court case. Not only television cameras are barred from court, but the media is also prohibited from audio recording or photographing any aspect of a trial, 7 | little knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg and that the day was just about to get considerably 8 He was a private person and kept himself to himself. Only by playing the violin he could display his personality. The music he played showed the world who he really was. © Rewrite the sentences in a more literary style, using fronting or a cleft sentence. Begin with the words given. 1 Assmall, eerie-looking cottage stood next to the lake. Next to the lake stood a small, eerie-looking cottag 2 He ran out through the door, with an agitated and angry mob following behind. Out 3 The summer days that lasted forever and went on never seeming to end are long gone. Long 4 Jenny's neighbour was perched on the edge of the bench with her head in her hands. Perched s 5 The uncertainty of never knowing what had happened was what she dreaded more than anything else. What 6 There was a pile of unwashed clothes and an empty bag next to the bed. Next 7 Alex came up with the idea first, not Oliver. tt 8 Though she was happy to help him, she did think he could at least give it a go himself frst Happy 9 The question was first brought up by Susan as she wanted to end the speculation, Wanting vit 10 There was a room behind a funny little door at the end of the corridor. My uncle told us that no-one should ever go inside under any circumstances. At My uncle told us that under Snir Complete these sentences with your own ideas. Then work in pairs or small groups, discuss your ideas, and find out more information. 41 Much as I like 2 One thing that really annoys me 3 What | want to know isstart their own What might people business have to consider when deciding on a career path? work as a volunteer to help people who are suffering