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Onizo Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Once did he

For once did he deeply sigh.

Can you tell me why the verb came first?

Thank you
  

Top answer

e. abusing the normally-accepted rules of grammar in order to make the sentence sound more interesting. There is no other reason to write in this way.

— Anonymous

  • e.
  • abusing the normally-accepted rules of grammar in order to make the sentence sound more interesting.
  • There is no other reason to write in this way.
  • Sorry!
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2 Answers
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I think this is "artistic licence", i.e. abusing the normally-accepted rules of grammar in order to make the sentence sound more interesting.

There is no other reason to write in this way. Sorry!
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onizo For once did he deeply sigh.Can you tell me why the verb came first? Thank you
It seems to me that the verb came first because somebody made a mistake. It should be For once he sighed deeply.

The word "only" would trigger inversion, however: Only once did he sigh deeply. (Different meaning, of course.)

CJ
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