LESSON 6
Inversion for emphasis
Put the verb before the subject to add force. A high-level structure, used once.
The idea
After certain negative or limiting words at the start of a sentence, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject, as in a question: Never have I seen. This sounds formal and emphatic.
Common starters: Not only, Never, Rarely, Seldom, Only after, Only then. Conditionals can also invert: Had I known (= if I had known), Should you need (= if you need). One inversion in an answer impresses; three sounds memorised.
The pattern
- Not only + auxiliary + subject …, but … also
- Never / Rarely / Seldom + auxiliary + subject …
- Only after / Only then + auxiliary + subject …
- Had / Should + subject … (formal conditional)
The rest of this lesson is in the full plan.
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