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Taka Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Inversion

0 Example: 01blockquote
00 The night was 11b10 so hot 12b10 that no one could sleep. => 11b10 So hot 12b10 was the night that no one could sleep. 12blockquote
12br
02br
00Then, is it possible to convert 02br
01blockquote
00 He is 11b10 such a good lecturer 12b10 that his classes are always full. 12blockquote
12br
02br
00into 02br
01blockquote
00 11b10 Such a good lecturer 12b10 is he that his classes are always full. 12blockquote
12br
02br
00? 0-
  

Top answer

0 I don't think "So hot was the night" is a correct structure of the sentence. 02br 00Therefore, "such a good lecturer is he" isn't one either. 0-

— Vince

  • 0 I don't think "So hot was the night" is a correct structure of the sentence.
  • 02br 00Therefore, "such a good lecturer is he" isn't one either.
  • 0-
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8 Answers
0
0 I don't think "So hot was the night" is a correct structure of the sentence. 02br
00Therefore, "such a good lecturer is he" isn't one either. 0-
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0
*71*0 01p

00Chek this out, vince. 02br
01blockquote

00 This is a common inversion, usually used with an adjective & the verb `be`. 12br
10e.g. So exciting was the soap opera, that I forgot to do my English homework. 12blockquote
12br
02p

00 0-
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0
0 Taka -- it's possible, but it does not sound like ordinary conversation. You might hear something like that in a poem, or in a speech, where language is rearranged a little to produce a dramatic effect. It rather reminds me of an old nursery rhyme (a child's poem from long ago) which ends, "What a good boy am I!" 0-
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0 Yes; or in a context where you want to make a strong connection with the end of the preceding sentence, for emphasis. 02br
02br
00From a random google: 02br
02br
00"No society with any semblance of modern government would tolerate such outrageous behavior by the authorities in the case of, say, stolen pianos; but the copyright industry wants us to believ
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0 khoff and MrP. 02br
01blockquote
00 "What a good boy am I!" 12blockquote
12br
02br
01blockquote
00 the inversion permits a particular sarcastic emphasis on 'so rare and precious'. 12blockquote
12br
02br
00Thank you. But I'm asking specifically about ' 01b00 Such a good
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0 Many things are grammatically possible, Taka, but that doesn't mean they are in common use. Yes, it is certainly grammatically possible. 0-
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0 Hello Taka 02br
02br
00The 'such' inversion certainly seems rarer than the 'so' inversion; I'm hard pressed to think of an example. 02br
02br
00As JTT says, your 'lecturer' inversion is grammatical; but it gives the impression of a highly mannered prose style. I would expect to find similar structures in the writings of Carlyle, for instance; or perhaps
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0 I understand. Thank you, people! 0-
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