SECTION 2
After not until, only when and only after, the
lnversion after negative adverbs
(For inversion in conditionals afier should, had, etc.
see Unit 5, Sections 3.4 and 4. For inversion in result
clauses after such, so, see Unit 6 , Section 2.1)
1 WHAT IS INVERSION?
When we begin a sentence with a negative adverb or
adverbial phrase, we sometimes have to change the
usual word order of subject and verb (often using an
auxiliary verb such as do):
1 had never seen so many people in one room.
(= normal word order)
Never had 1 seen so many people in one room.
(= inversion)
x x
mf&tgm
J Not only was he good looking, he was also very
intelligent.
2 WHEN WE USE INVERSION
We use inversion when we move a negative adverb
(never, nowhere, not only, etc.) to the beginning of a
sentence. We do this because we want to emphasise
the meaning of the adverb.
Time relationships
We use inversion afier 'negative' adverbs which
emphasise a time relationship at the beginning of a
sentence:
No sooner had 1 put the phone down than it rang
again.
Hardly / Scarcely / Barely had 1 got my breath back
when it was time to go again.
We use inversion with phrases that use not:
Not until he apologises will 1 speak to him again.
Not since 1 was little have 1 had so muchfun.
Not for one minute do 1 imagine they'll come back.
We use inversion with some time phrases that use
only:
Only after severa1 weeks did she begin to recover.
Only Zater did she realise what had happened.
Only then did he remember he hadn't got his keys.
Only when I'vefinished this will 1 be able to think
about anything else.
Here are more examples:
only recently only in the last fav days
only last week onlyfive minutes earlier
inversion is in the main part of the sentence:
. .
x x
*
J Not untilZ saw him did Z remember we had met
before.
Frequency
We also use inversion after 'negative' adverbs which
emphasise frequency at the beginning of a sentence:
Never have 1 been so taken aback. Rarely do they fail
to get away for a holiday. Seldom is that pop group
out of the news. Hardly ever did he wear a suit.
We can also use inversion after 'negative' adverbs
at the beginning of a sentence to emphasise how
infrequently things happen:
Little did she realise what was about to happen.
Nowhere was a replacement to befound.
General emphasis
We ofien use inversion for general emphasis with
phrases that use only:
Only by patience and hard work will wefind a
solution.
Only in this way do we stand any chance of success.
and we can also use phrases with no:
Zn no way should this be regarded as un end of the
matter.
On no account are you to repeat this to anyone.
Under no circumstances can we accept the ofer.
3 NOT USlNG INVERSION
We use inversion when the adverb modifies the verb,
and not when it modifies the noun:
Rarely seen dunng the day, the badger is a famously
shy animal. (= no inversion)
Hardly anyone knows about it. (= no inversion)
Tick (4) the sentences which do not contain
inversion.
a Nowhere have 1 seen anything like this.
b Never give u p until you have tried al1 the
alternatives.
c Only by paying the fees in full can we guarantee a
place on the course.
d Hardly anyone applied for the job.
e Not since the 1940s has there been such poverq.
 INVERSION AFTER NEGATIVE ADVERBS

Match the first (1-10) and second (a-j) parts.

Examples: i +.j 2 + i
O Underline al1 the phrases (a-i) that can start Inconsistent advice about a new husband!
sentence 1 below. (1 On no account should)
a Rarely if ever (2 Not only should he be allowed to give his
b Not only opinions,)
c Only if it's convenient 3 Under no circumstances is he to
d Hardly anyone expects that 4 Only by constantly nagging will he be
e Under no circurnstances 5 Only after weeks of rigorous training will he
f Under such circumstances 6 Rarely will a man respond to a request the first
g Only by asking her directly time unless
h No way 7 No way should his laundry be done for him unless
i Unless something unusual happens 8 Only very rarely should a garment be ironed
1 ... she will come. for him
9 In exceptional circumstances
Underline al1 the phrases (a-i) that can start 10 But, only if he seems really desperate
sentence 2 below.
a learn how to switch on the vacuum cleaner.
a Little did anyone notice b should you try to solve his problems for him.
b Only if he wasn't available c without the assurance that next time he will do it
c Barely had 1 sat down when himself.
d On no occasion 1 recall d you may take what he says seriously.
e Only when it was convenient e it is in his own interests to do so.
f Not until we were al1 ready f he is prepared to lend a hand with the washing up.
g Never did she knock before g be disturbed while watching a football match on
h Only then television.
i It was then that h persuaded to pick his clothes off the floor.
2 ... did she come in (i he should also be deluded into thinking you agree
with him.)
@ Finish each of the seiitences in such a way that (j you let him realise he isn't the boss.)
it is as similar in meaning as possible to the
sentence printed before it. Fill each blank with a suitable word.
Example: The full story did not emerge until
somebody leaked information to the press. Memo to teaching staff
Only when somebody leaked information t o the press
We have a problem. Rarely .......... (1) we had a student
did the full story emerge. -
population like this one. .......... (2) since the 1980s can
a He walked through the door and was imrnediately 1 remember so many troublesome students in our
met by a barrage of questions.
school at any one time. Not only .......... (3) some of
No sooner ......................................
them treat the staff with absolute scorn, .......... (4) t h e ~
b He wouldn't agree to the changes until 1 pointed
out that his job depended on them. are also clearly .......... (5) on causing as much trouble
Not until ........................................ as possible arnong their peers.
c You don't often hear of such selfless actions. On .......... (6) account can such behaviour be allowed
Seldom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to continue. And not for one .......... (7) should the
d 1 have never been so insulted. ringleaders think they will not be punished. Only
Never . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... (8) such punishment is carried out will
e The only way he could get in was to break a confidence return to the student body and .......... (9)
window. then will school life return to sorne kind of normality.
Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Under no circumstances .......... (10) we allow the
f You must never talk to the press about ths, present state of affairs to continue.
whatever happens.
Under ............................................
@ GRAMMAR
SECTION 4
Past conditionals
1 VERB FORMS IN THE IF-CLAUSE
We use Unreal Past Perfect in the ifclause to indicate
that we know what happened but are speculating
about what would have happened if the opposite had
been true. This is sometimes called the 'Third'
conditional:
lfshe'd known my number, she would have phoned.
(= but she didn't know it)
l f 1 hadn't been standing outside the supermarket, we
might never have met.
We can omit ifand start with Had:
Had 1 believed her for one moment, 1 wouldn't have
refused to help.
Occasionally, something that is generally true -
although we wish it wasn't - can have results in
the past:
l f 1 wasn't / weren't such an idiot, 1 wouldn't have
done that.
If it hadn't been for. ..
This phrase means 'without her, your, etc. help,
interference, etc.'. We can use the phrase Ifit weren't 1
wasn't for... to refer to the present, though if the time
reference is clear, it can occasionally refer to the past:
If it wasn't for the parking problem, 1'd drive to work.
If it hadn't been for you, we'd never have got there on
time.
Had it not been for Wagner, modern classical music
would sound very diferent.
If it wasn't for/ hadn't been for those delays on the
motonvay we'd never have missed the wedding.
Were
In formal English we can use conditional structures
beginning with Were + Perfect infinitive:
Were you to have stopped and considered, you'd have
seen the error of your ways.
2 VERB FORMS IN THE MAlN CLAUSE
For Past conditionals that have results in the past,
we use moda1 Perfects (would l could l might have,
etc.):
Had you told me earlier, 1 could have done something
about it.
For Past conditionals that have results in the
present or future, we use mainly would, could or
might:
lfyou'd listened more carefully to his directions, you
wouldn't be lost now.
lfonly I'd entered politics earlier, 1 could be Prime
Minister now.
With false conditionals in the past, we use Past
tenses in the main clause. We don't use Unreal
Past Perfect in the if-clause:
lfyou were in the area, why didn't you come and visit?
3 WOULD HAVE ... WOULD HAVE
The use of would have in both qclause and main
clause is becoming very common in spoken and even
written English. It's still considered incorrect by
some people:
lfl'd have known how expensive it was, 1 wouldn't
have gone.
It's sometimes difficult to hear Past conditionals
spoken at speed because of short forms:
I'd've come at once ifonly you'd've rung me.
4 PAST CONDITIONALS WITHOUT CONDlTlONAL
WORDS
We often use a Past conditional structure without
using a conventional 'conditional word' like ifor
unless:
Butfor your help, we'd never have managed.
We'd have been completely lost without you.
You should have come - you'd have loved it.
Thefilm would have been just as efective in black
and white.
Tick ( J )the sentence that has both an tf-clauseand a
main clause which refer to the past.
a If 1 wasn't so tired al1 the time, 1 wouldn't have
made such an elementary mistake.
b If you had driven faster, we'd be there by now.
c I'd have rung you if I'd known you were at home.
d 1 wouldn't be going to London if you hadn't told
me about the exhibition.
e If you were right about the weather, we're going
to get wet.
@ GRAMMAR
SECTION 2
Result and Purpose
1 RESULT CLAUSES
Ways of introducing result clauses include:
so...(t hat)
So comes at the beginning of the result clause:
There were nine of us so we had to bnng more chairs.
We also use so before adjectives and adverbs
followed by a that-clause (we can omit that):
He was sofed up (that) he threatened to resign.
So disgusted were they by the bad language (that) they
walked out. (= formal)
such ...(that)
We use such before a noun or an adjective + noun,
followed by a that-clause (we can omit that):
They had such a great time (that) no one wanted to go
home. Such was our annoyance (that) we refused to co-
operatefurther. (= formal)
We use in such a way that and in such a way as to
meaning 'with the result that':
He designed the room in such a way that it looked
bigger than it actually was.
The city centre is signposted in such a way as to
completely confuse most tourists.
Other ways of expressing result include:
Therefore, consequently, and as a result are adverbials
that help to express result:
Sales are down. Therefme there'll be no pay rise this
year.
We didn't eat the shellfih and consequently weren't as
sick as everyone else.
There was a shortage of lqeboats on the Titanic and
l l i O O people died as a result.
We can use othenvise and or else to express the
consequences of not doing something:
We need to speed up, othenvise we'll be late.
Let7sput the pnce up or else we'll make no profit at all.
2 PURPOSE CLAUSES
Ways of introducing purpose clauses include:
to-infinitive
The most common way to express purpose is to
use a to-infinitive (called an 'infinitive of purpose'),
especially to express one particular purpose:
1phoned toJind out f h e was still there.
1didn't do it to annuy you.
in order to and so as to
We use in order to and so as to:
to emphasise intentions or requirements:
1 arrived early so as to / in order to appear keen.
to express a negative motive or purpose:
In order not to be misunderstood, let me put it another
way.
1 told him when he was alone so as not to ernbarrass
him in public.
to avoid confusion with other uses of to-infinitive:
1 helped him in mder to make sure he arnved safely.
1 helped him to get the answer. (= not an infinitive of
purpose)
in order that and so that
We use in order that and so that when the second
subject begins with a noun or pronoun:
X X .
J I've drawn a map for you in order that you canfind
the house.
Other ways of expressing purpose include:
We use for in front of nouns to express purpose:
They did itfor a laugh.
We often usefor + -ing with a similar meaning to
a to-infinitive:
We use this Allen keyfor tightening the snews.
We use this Allen key to tighten the snews.
We useforfear of l that (and lest in very formal
English) to introduce possible consequences that
we are trying to avoid:
They left at nightforfear ofbeingfollowed.
He locked his drawer lest somebody should look in it
overnight.
See Section 4 for other ways of expressing purpose.
Mark (P) next to sentences that contain a purpose
clause, and (R) next to those with a result clause.
a Such was their confusion that my parents ended
up getting totally lost.
b So brilliant a footballer was he that he played for
his country at the age of 18.
c 1 worked hard so that my mother wouldn't
complain.
d We'd left early to make sure we got there in time.
e They played loud music every evening, so the
neighbours began to complain.