Inversion with negative adverbialsIn formal English, and in written language in particular, we use negative adverbials at the beginning of the sentence to make it more emphatic or dramatic.The word orderis inverted: the negative adverbial is placed first, an auxiliary verb follows it and the subject of the sentence comes next.The inversion of the subject and the verb can take place after a clause that begins withNot until andOnly after/if/when. Time adverbials:Never (before), rarely, seldom;Barely/hardly/scarcely...when/before;No sooner....than Only + a time expression:Only when, only after... Negative expressions:Under no circustances, In no way... Expressions starting with Not...:Not a noun, not only.... but also, not until... Littlewith a negative meaning

Look at the following examples:Neverhave I encounteredsuch rudeness! (extract from a letter of complaint about the service in a restaurant)Not onlyis Amanda Swifta gifted musician,butshe isalsogood-natured and responsible. (extract from a covering letter)No soonerhad he lockedthe doorthanthe phone started ringing.Only when the last person had leftdid she sit downand try to relax.Under no circumstancescan you informthe staff about the imminent changes.Not a soundcould be heardin the church.LittledoesMichael suspectthat his daughter has been failing all her subjects at school!

Inversion(verb before the subject)

Inversion means putting the verb before the subject.It is sometimes difficult to remember when inversion is used.Below you will find some guidelines and examples to help you.

In normal everyday English, inversion is used :

1. To make questions:Does he? Can you?1. After 'so' 'neither', 'nor' :So do I, neither do I, nor do I.

In written English, as well as in a very formal style, inversion is used in the following cases :1. After negative adverbial expressions :0. Under no circumstancescan weaccept cheques.0. In no waycan hebe held responsible.0. At no timedid she sayshe would come.

1. After adverbial expressions of place :1. Round the corner came the postman.1. On the doorstep was a bunch of flowers.

1. After 'seldom', 'rarely', 'never', in comparisons :2. Seldomhave I seensuch a beautiful view.2. Rarelydid he payanyone a compliment.2. Neverhad I feltso happy.

1. After 'hardly', 'scarcely', 'no sooner', when one thing happens after another.3. Hardly had I begunto speak when I was interrupted.3. Scarcely had we startedour meal when the phone rang.3. No sooner had I arrivedthan they all started to argue.

1. After adverbial expressions beginning with 'only' :4. Onlyafter the meetingdid I realizethe importance of the subject.

1. After exclamations with 'here' and 'there' :5. Here comes the winner!5. There goesall our money!

Cleft sentencesare used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasise what we want to say by introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause.Because there are two parts to the sentence it is calledcleft(from the verbcleave) which means divided into two.Cleft sentencesare particularly useful in writing where we cannot use intonation for purposes of focus or emphasis, but they are also frequently used in speech.

Cleft structuresincludethe reason why,the thing that,the person/people who,the place where,the day whenandwhat-clauseswhich are usually linked to the clause that we want to focus on withisorwas.Compare the following sets of sentences and notice how the cleft structurein each case enables us to select the information we want to focus on: I've come to discuss my future with you. The reason whyI've comeisto discuss my future with you. Your generosity impresses more than anything else. The thing thatimpresses me more than anything elseisyour generosity. The jewels are hidden under the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road, Epping. The place wherethe jewels are hiddenisunder the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road, Epping. Under the floor at 23 Robin Hood Roadis the place wherethe jewels are hidden. Mary works harder than anybody else in this organisation. The person whoworks harder than anybody else in this organisationisMary. Maryis the personin this organisationwhoworks harder than anybody else. The Second World War ended on 7 May 1945 in Europe. The day (when)the Second World War ended in Europewas7 May 1945 7 May 1945was the day (when)the Second World War ended in Europe. We now need actions rather than words. Whatwe now needareactions rather than words. Actions rather than wordsare whatwe now need. I enjoyed the brilliant music most of all in the Ballet Frankfurt performance. WhatI enjoyed most in the Ballet Frankfurt performancewasthe brilliant music. The brilliant musicwas whatI enjoyed most in the Ballet Frankfurt performance.Note from the last two examples that cleft structures withwhat-clausesare often used with verbs expressing an emotive response to something likeadore,dislike,enjoy,hate,like,loathe,love,need,prefer,want, etc.

Cleft structures with what-clauses are also often used withdoes/do/didand with the verbhappenwhen we want to give emphasis to the whole sentence, rather than a particular clause.Compare the following: The police interviewed all the witnesses to the accident first. Whatthe policedidfirstwas(to) interview all the witnesses to the accident. You should invest all your money in telecoms companies. Whatyou shoulddo is(to) invest all your money in telecoms companies. Whatyou should invest all your money inistelecoms companies. She writes all her novels on a typewriter. Whatshedoes is(to) write all her novels on a type writer. Their car broke down on the motorway so they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time. Whathappenedwas thattheir car broke down on the motorway so they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time.

It is sometimes very effective to useallinstead ofwhatin a cleft structure if you want to focus on one particular thing and nothing else: I want a new coat for Christmas. AllI want for Christmasisa new coat. A new coatis allI want for Christmas. I touched the bedside light and it broke. AllIdid was(to) touch the bedside light and it broke.

Finally, we can also usepreparatory itin cleft sentences and join the words that we want to focus on to the relative clause withthat,whoorwhen.In the example which follows, note how this construction enables us to focus on different aspects of the information, which may be important at the time: My brother bought his new car from our next-door neighbour last Saturday. It was my brother whobought his new car from our neighbour last Saturday. It was last Saturday whenmy brother bought his new car from our neighbour. It was a new car thatmy brother bought from our neighbour last Saturday. It was our next-door neighbour thatmy brother bought his new car from last Saturday.Look out for cleft structures in your reading. They are a very common feature of written English.

If you want to practise using some of these phrases look at ourMessage Boardin theYou, Meand Uspart of our website.

Acleft sentenceis a sentence which has been divided into two parts, each with its own verb, to emphasize a particular piece of information. The first sentence begins withItplus the corresponding form of the verbto be, followed by the element which is being emphasized, and the second is generally athat-relative clause. For example, the sentenceMy brothermarried Alice in Oxford in 1999can be turned into the followingcleft sentences:

It was Alice that my brother married (in Oxford in 1999)It was my brother that married Alice (in Oxford in 1999)It was in Oxford that my brother married Alice (in 1999)It was in 1999 that my brother married Alice (in Oxford)

If the antecedent is a person,whois sometimes used instead ofthat:

It was my brother who married AliceIt's my wife who drives the children to school

When there is awhat-clausewhich emphasizes the action itself, we have apseudo-cleft sentence:

You need lovebecomeswhat you need is love

If there is an infinitive,tois optional:

You've spoilt everythingbecomesWhat you've done is (to) spoil everything

Allis used instead ofwhatwhen the meaning isthe only thing that:

The only thing I did was (to) drink a couple of beersbecomesAll I did was (to) drink a couple of beers.

PRACTICE

* Build upcleft sentencesemphasizing the element in italics:

a- I met my wifein Parisb- We were marriedin Septemberc-Brunoreported us to the policed -The manager himselfwants to speak to youe - Benidorm is a nice place for a holiday, but I'm going toMarbellathis summerf -My left leghurts, not the right one

** Turn the following sentences intopseudo-cleft sentences, headed by the word in brackets:

a - You need a good cup of tea (what)b - I'll write a letter toThe Times(what)c - I liked best her performance (what)d - I only drank a couple of pints with my colleagues (all)

KEY

*a - It was in Paris that I met my wifeb - Ii was in September that we were marriedc - It was Bruno who/that reported us to the policed - It's the manager himself who/that wants to speak to youe - Benidorm is a nice place for a holiday, but it's to Marbella that I'm going this summerf - It's my left leg that hurts, not the right one

**a - What you need is a good cup of teab - What I'll do is (to) write a letter toThe Timesc - What I liked best was her performanced - All I did was (to) drink a couple of pints with my colleagues.