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JungKim Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

inversion after 'as'

I'd like to know (1) which of the following is the most natural and (2) whether any of the following is unnatural or ungrammatical:
(A) My system is no more expensive than yours would be.
(B) My system is no more expensive than would be yours.
(C) My system is no more expensive than would yours be.
  

Top answer

I would wirite: My system is no more expensive than yours.

  • I would wirite: My system is no more expensive than yours.
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11 Answers
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I would wirite: My system is no more expensive than yours.
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(A) is grammatical.
(B) is grammatical, but strange.
(C) is grammatical, but very strange.

A more idiomatic version has already been given above.

CJ
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Thanks!
What about these then?
(a) My system is expensive, as your would be.
(b) My system is expensive, as would be yours.
(c) My system is expensive, as would yours be.
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I assume you mean "yours" in the first one. If so,

(a) is OK.
(b) is OK, but a little unusual.
(c) is OK, but unusual.

The more you invert words from their normal order, the more awkward they sound for purposes of everyday communication. By inverting you make sentence structures more appropriate for poetry. These sentences, ho
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Thanks, CJ.
If no native speakers would have used this type of inversion in their everyday communication, written or spoken, I wouldn't be playing with this type of inversion and trying to figure it out, as am I. I mean, why would I?
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JungKimas would you be if ...
Very interesting. That's grammatical, as I have said, but it still seems unusual to me. It seems to me to be part of literary style. It's a little oddity, a strange twist to capture the reader's attention. I can't imagine a friend of mine saying something like that to me in an everyday conversation.

CJ
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JungKimIf no native speakers would have used this type of inversion in their everyday communication, written or spoken,
CJ did not say that.
JungKimwhat I am being told here may be the truth, but may not be the whole truth.
What CJ said seems pretty accurate to me.
JungKimTo prove that I'm not halluci
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fivejedjonAre you suggesting that one film review proves that the construction is common in everyday speech?
No, I'm not. Not being a native speaker, I'm not in a position to say it's "common." But, even if the construction is uncommon, that doesn't automatically render it "strange" or "unusual", does it?

Whenever a native speaker says a construction
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JungKimWhenever a native speaker says a construction is strange or unusual, I get the impression that no native speaker will use such a construction.
Well, you get the wrong impression.
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Thanks, fivejedjon. So, these "strange/unusual" constructions, what do I have to do with them?
Since it's strange or unusual at best, do I just have to not use them altogether?
To my non-native speaker ears, though, the "strange/unusual" constructions sound more native speaker-like than the non-inverted "normal" constructions or even the ones without the verb.
Maybe I really am halluci

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