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Henry74 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Inversion
Hello,
I know that phrases like "not only" trigger a subject-object inversion when they feature at the beginning of a sentence. What I'm not clear about is whether said inversion is obligatory or optional. Are both the following correct or just the first?
1) Not only was I not listening to you, I wasn't even....
2) Not only I wasn't listening to you, I wasn't even...
Thank you
H.
I know that phrases like "not only" trigger a subject-object inversion when they feature at the beginning of a sentence. What I'm not clear about is whether said inversion is obligatory or optional. Are both the following correct or just the first?
1) Not only was I not listening to you, I wasn't even....
2) Not only I wasn't listening to you, I wasn't even...
Thank you
H.
Top answer
Only the first is correct. As far as I can think, the inversion is always obligatory in sentences with this pattern.
- Only the first is correct.
- As far as I can think, the inversion is always obligatory in sentences with this pattern.
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1 Answers
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Only the first is correct.
As far as I can think, the inversion is always obligatory in sentences with this pattern.
As far as I can think, the inversion is always obligatory in sentences with this pattern.
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