Not until ~ inversion

Question

Hi teachers!Today I have a couple of questions regarding 'not until ~' sentence. The following sentences are from Korean high school exams. What I wonder is why there does not occur inversion after 'not until clause' in 1. 1. Not until both said it was finished a painting was finished. I think not until clause induces an inversion like in 2.2. Not until both said it was finished was a painting finished. However, I remember somebody told me that inversions do not occur in passive and progressive sentences. Then, which are the grammatical sentences among the sentences in the below. 3. On the hill was a man standing. 4. On the hill a man was standing. 5. Never was he attacked by a dog. 6. Never he was attacked by a dog. 7. On the hill was he surprised. 8. On the hill he was surprised. Another question I have here is that 'he was surprised' may not be a passive sentence if we see the word 'surprised' as an adjective. As always, many many thanks teachers ?

Clive · Accepted Answer

The following sentences are from Korean high school exams. What I wonder is why there does not occur inversion after 'not until clause' in 1.

I'm not familiar with these rules, so I am just going to indicate which sentences sound OK to me.

1. Not until both said it was finished a painting was finished. Yes, this is not correct.

I think not until clause induces an inversion like in 2.

2. Not until both said it was finished was a painting finished. OK

Have you been taught that such inversions are uncommon in everyday English? They sound quite literary.

However, I remember somebody told me that inversions do not occur in passive and progressive sentences. Then, which are the grammatical sentences among the sentences in the below.

3. On the hill was a man standing. Sounds strange

4. On the hill a man was standing. OK

On the hill was standing a man.<<< OK

5. Never was he attacked by a dog. OK

6. Never he was attacked by a dog. No

7. On the hill was he surprised. Sounds strange

8. On the hill he was surprised. OK

Another question I have here is that 'he was surprised' may not be a passive sentence if we see the word 'surprised' as an adjective. That's true.

Clive

Not until ~ inversion

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