0
Komountain Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

"Under no circumstances"

Hello, everyone.

When you start a sentence with the phrase 'Under no circumstances,' you should invert the sentence, as the negative adverbial is placed at the beginning. Does this inversion rule apply
to the phrase 'In no time,' too? First of all, can the phrase be placed at the beginning of a sentence? If it can, I think at one moment the sentence should be inverted, but at the next I find myself scratching my head, if not pulling my hair.

Please remember I have appreciated all you comments so far.
  

Top answer

The phrase is " at no time". At no time should the participants leave the dance floor, or they will be disqualified from the contest. At no time have I ever said such a thing.

  • The phrase is " at no time".
  • At no time should the participants leave the dance floor, or they will be disqualified from the contest.
  • At no time have I ever said such a thing.
  • Contrast with: He ran very fast and apprehended the thief in no time.
  • In no time, he (had) apprehended the thief.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
The phrase is "at no time".

At no time should the participants leave the dance floor, or they will be disqualified from the contest.

At no time have I ever said such a thing.

Contrast with:

He ran very fast and apprehended the thief in no time.
In no time, he (had) apprehended the thief.

I had the job finished in no time at all.
I
0
Wow, I killed two birds with one stone.
Thank you for bringing up "at no time" too.
As your examples show, the "in no time" sentences are not inverted even when the phrase serves as a sentence opener. The moment you mentioned "at no time," another question hit me in no time. I feel both of these phrases are negative adverbials. could you please explain why you treat them differently in
0
Komountain san

What you are talking about is the negative/restrictive inversion, a rule of "subject-verb inversion" or "SV inversion" triggered by putting at the head of the sentence a word or phrase that has a negative/restrictive sense. Please visit the site of URL below given, then you can get what the negative/restrictive inversion means. "At no time" is almost equal to "never" and
0
Thank you for the invaluable info.
You're very active in this forum.
I simply admire you and wonder where your such energy comes from.
I know 'san' in Japanese is 'Mr.' But in another country the word means 'mountain.'
Interesting, uh?
0
The phrase "in no time" also exists. It means very quickly. Obviously it should not be taken literally.

"In no time at all, he washed the dishes, cleaned the dogs' kennels, emptied the dishwasher and watered all the plants"

"That was done in no time"
0

thanks you very much,it is useful fo me.this is the first time.i come english forum and i am asorbed in convenience in studying english,all member are good and helpful.i hope i can recieve more help from all peple.thanks.

Related Questions