'prepositional phrase' inversion
Hello, everyone,
Today I have seen following inversion sentence in a grammar book issued in Korea;
“My lost ring was found under the desk.” => “Under the desk was found my lost ring.”
When I refer to Advanced grammar In Use by Hewings, he explained as follows;
Unit 119. Inversion after adverbial phrases of direction and place
When we put an adverbial phrase, especially of direction or place, at the beginning of a sentence, we sometimes put an intransitive verb in front of its subject. This kind of inversion is found particularly in formal or literary styles:
- Dave began to open the three parcels. Inside the first was a book of crosswords from his
Aunt Alice, (or, less formally Inside the first there was a book of crosswords...)
With the verb be we always use inversion in sentences like this, and inversion is usual with certain verbs of place and movement, such as climb, come, fly, go, hang, lie, run, sit, stand:
- Above the fireplace was a portrait of the Duke. (not ...a portrait of the Duke was.)
- In an armchair sat his mother. (rather than ...his mother sat.)
Inversion doesn't usually occur with other verbs. We don't invert subject and verb when the subject is a pronoun. So, for example, we don't say 'In an armchair sat she.'
Thus, while I assume the original sentence has no fact to trigger any inversion, I will appreciate, if you kindly check/advise me whether the above inversion is grammatical and natural.
Best RGDS
Top answer
deepcosmos check/advise me whether the above inversion is grammatical and natural. It's fine, but it is rather literary in feel. Nobody I know would say it that way, but I might write it that way if I thought it fit.
- deepcosmos check/advise me whether the above inversion is grammatical and natural.
- It's fine, but it is rather literary in feel.
- Nobody I know would say it that way, but I might write it that way if I thought it fit.
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deepcosmos check/advise me whether the above inversion is grammatical and natural.
It's fine, but it is rather literary in feel. Nobody I know would say it that way, but I might write it that way if I thought it fit.
0deepcosmos“Under the desk was found my lost ring.”
This sentence is unusual and may seem awkward or stilted. While it does not seem suitable for ordinary everyday use, I wouldn't say that is impossible in all styles of writing.
0deepcosmos inversion is usual with certain verbs of place and movement, such as climb, come, fly, go, hang, lie, run, sit, stand
What are verbs of place among those listed above? I do not see any. I see dynamic and static ones, or, in other words, the verbs of movement and non-movement.
0
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