Mem-Inverted Sentences

Transcript

1. Inversion & Cleft Sentences By now, you likely have a good grasp of the typical word order in English sentences. In today’s lesson, you’ll learn some ways we can alter the wording in a sentence to give particular emphasis to certain elements. Inversion You already know that in English, the word order is different in questions and statements. In statements, we but the subject before the auxiliary verb, and when asking a question, we put the auxiliary verb before the subject: • He doesn’t live in the city. Does he live in the city? • She can swim. Can she swim? • I’ve finished the work. Have you finished the work? • We should buy a new TV. Should we buy a new TV? However, there’s another situation in which we can “invert” the normal word order. Here are some examples of phrases that typically begin inverted sentences: Never / Never before I had never felt so at peace. Never before had I felt so at peace. Not only... but also I was late for the meeting and I spilled my coffee when rushing into the room. Not only was I late for the meeting, but I also spilled my coffee when rushing into the room.
2. Not until After I moved out, I understood how dysfunctional my family was. Not until I moved out did I understand how dysfunctional my family was. No sooner Right after I cleaned the kitchen, my son spilled juice all over the floor. No sooner did I clean the kitchen than my son spilled juice all over the floor. At no time The president was not aware of the corruption at any time. At no time was the president aware of the corruption. Under no circumstances My sister and I weren’t allowed to stay out past 10 PM. Under no circumstances were my sister and I allowed to stay out past 10 PM. Rarely; seldom Pamela rarely offers to help. Rarely does Pamela offer to help. I have seldom felt so conflicted. Seldom have I felt so conflicted. Only when; only after After he left the house, he realized he’d forgotten his wallet. Only after he left the house did he realize he’d forgotten his wallet. 👀 Notice that when there is no auxiliary verb in the original sentence, we actually ADD the auxiliary verb do or did in the inverted sentence: Pamela rarely offers to help Rarely does Pamela offer to help. Right after I cleaned the kitchen…
3. No sooner did I clean the kitchen… When to use this structure? When you want to emphasize the negative expression at the beginning of the sentence. For example, when we compare: • I had never felt so at peace. • Never before had I felt so at peace. The first sentence focuses more on the feeling of peace, whereas the second sentence focuses more on the fact that I had NEVER had this feeling before. Here’s another example: • After I moved out, I understood how dysfunctional my family was. • Not until I moved out did I understand how dysfunctional my family was. The first sentence focuses more on the new understanding. The second sentence places more emphasis on the timing before arriving at this new understanding. ________________________________ The phrase “not only… but also…” functions to emphasize the second phrase as even better or worse than the first: 1- I was late for the meeting and I spilled my coffee when rushing into the room. In this sentence, both “being late” and “spilling the coffee” are treated as approximately equal 2- Not only was I late for the meeting, but I also spilled my coffee when rushing into the room. In this sentence, “being late for the meeting” is the less bad action, and “spilling my coffee” is the worst action – perhaps because it’s more embarrassing.
4. Put it into practice! 1- Think about when you experienced or realized something for the first time. Make a sentence with never before: State the experience. Never before had I _____________. 2- Now think about a time when a situation went from good to great, or from bad to worse. Make a sentence with not only… but also: Not only did _______________, but _______ also ______________________.