[52] Emphatic structures (I): Inversion

 

Perhaps the inversion of subject and verb is long and eagerly awaited topic on this blog so today I am going to introduce this area of the English grammar. In the next part of the article, which I hope I will be able to put here before Sunday, you will find some examples of the so-called 'emphatic structures' so that you can easily identify them in English texts and dialogues and also use them for your own purposes. Enjoy!

Normally, inversion in English occurs in questions. In other cases the use of inversion is optional and one has to be careful about overusing it, in which case inversion may look and sound too dramatic and strange. Obviously, the purpose of inverting subjects and verbs is to put the emphasis on what we cosider the most important part of the sentence, or utterance, at a particular time. Inversion is introduced either after certain lead words (never, nor) or some sentence patterns (no sooner ... than). It is also important to stress that there are two types, or patterns, of inversion, which are discussed separately to be less confusing for you.

Examples of lead words:

• negative adverbials: never (before), on no account, not only, no sooner, in no way, in/under no circumstances, on no account, on no occasion, on no condition, only then

These words follow the first pattern of inversion, which will be demonstrated below by a couple of examples:

PHRASE + (AUXILIARY) VERB + SUBJECT + VERB + THE REST OF THE SENTENCE

wyrażenie + operator/czasownik + podmiot + czasownik + reszta zdania

For example (Polish translation provided in italics. Subject-verb intversion is difficult to translate into Polish so I just used just loose, 'more-or-less' translations):

Never before + have + I + been +  so happy in my life.       Nigdy wcześniej w życiu nie byłam tak szczęśliwa. 

On no account + can + my daughter + go + to this room.       Pod żadnym pozorem moja córka nie może wejść do tego pokoju. 

Not only + are + computers useful, but also entertaining.       Nie tylko komputery się przydają, ale też bawią. 

No sooner had I arrived than I noticed that my watch had been stolen.        Ledwie co wróciłem, kiedy zauważyłem, że ktoś ukradł mój zegarek. 

In no way can you help me.      W żaden sposób nie możesz mi pomóc. 

In/under no circumstances are you allowed to use my computer.    W żadnym wypadku nie możesz skorzystać z mojego komputera. 

On no occasion/on no condition can you follow me.   Pod żadnym pozorem nie idź za mną.

Only then did I understand everything.      Dopiero wtedy wszystko zrozumiałam. 

• restrictive adverbs/adverbials: scarcely, hardly, rarely, seldom, barely, only in this way, little, hardly ever 

Scarcely/Hardly had the cat caught the mouse when the dog started chasing it.        Ledwie co kot złapał mysz, gdy zaczął gonić go pies.

Rarely/sedlom does he visit us.       Rzadko (on) nas odwiedza.  

Only in this way will she be able to solve this problem.      Tylko w ten sposób zdoła ona rozwiązać ten problem. 

Little do we know about the accident.       O wypadku wiemy mało. 

BUT:

after: only after, only by, only if, only when, not since, not till/until we use the other type of inversion, which is simply inverting the main clause in a sentence, not what follows the lead phrase. Compare:

Only when you see him, will you realize how much he has suffered. 

The green fragment was inverted, instead of what is placed directly after "only when". We must be careful with these phrases, especially with not till/until, or not since. Other examples: 

Not since I was a child have I had such a wonderful holiday.       Od dzieciństwa nie miałem tak udanych wakacji. 

Not until the calculator was constructed, did people have to use abaci.      Dopóty nie skonstruowano kalkulatora, ludzie używali liczydeł. 

Only by regular training can you keep fit.      Tylko porzez regularny trening możesz utrzymać formę. 

Only after you read about inversion, will you see how difficult this topic is.       Dopiero jak poczytasz o inwersji, zorientujesz się jak trudny to temat. 

Other situations in which inversion occurs: 

• adverbs indicating position of movement like: here, up, down etc., or adverbials of place: 

Here comes the hero!!       A oto bohater, oto pojawia się bohater etc. 

Into the room came my sister with good news.      Do pokoju wpadła siostra z dobrymi wieściami. 

Upstairs he went.       Na górę poszedł.

On the hill stood the castle.       Na wzgórzu stał zamek. 

• after so and such to express result: 

So nice was the party that we decided to have it again!       Tak fajna była impreza, że aż zechcieliśmy przeżyć ją jeszcze raz. 

Such was the rain that I couldn`t drive my car.          Tak padało, że aż nie mogłem prowadzić samochodu.

After so in short answers like: So do I (Me too), and, analogically, Neither do I. 

• in conditional clauses, with the aim of eliminating "if": 

If you should have any problem, call me at once. = Should you have any problem, call me at once

If I were you, I would choose the red one. = Were I you, I would choose... 

If I had been more attentive, I wouldn`t have had the accident. Had I been more attentive... 

• in the following type of constructions with past participles: 

past participle + verb + subject + the rest of the sentence

Analyzed were phenomena such as stylistic inversion.    Analizowano zjawiska takie jak inwersja stylistyczna.

Solved first will be problems concerning the unemployed.     Najpierw rozwiązane będą problemy bezrobotnych. 

• after as in the following construction:

I read books as do many young people.    Czytam książki jak wielu młodych ludzi. 

The dinner was great, as was the party.    Kolacja była świetna, jak i przyjęcie.