Sentence Inversion

Question

I try to inverse the following sentences.

Teresa was singing on the stage.
My younger sister was beaten in the kitchen.

So my work is as follows,

On the stage was Teresa singing.
In the kitchen was my younger sister beaten.

How do they sound?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

LcchangOn the stage was Teresa singing.In the kitchen was my younger sister beaten.

Those are completely unnatural for native English speakers.

CalifJim · Answer

Lcchangon the stage ... in the kitchen

These are locations, so it looks like you're trying to do locative inversion. The problem is that you're using the wrong kinds of verbs (sing, beat). There are only a limited number of verbs that allow locative inversion, chiefly verbs of appearance. there is frequently inserted.

A ship appeared on the horizon.
On the horizon (there) appeared a ship.

A butterfly emerged from the chrysalis.
From the chrysalis (there) emerged a butterfly.

CJ

Clive · Answer

You could say this.

On the stage, Teresa was singing.
In the kitchen, my younger sister was beaten.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

CliveYou could say this.On the stage, Teresa was singing.In the kitchen, my younger sister was beaten.

Yes, those are good sentences, but they are not subject-verb inversions.

You could make these sentences.

On the stage (there) was Teresa, singing.
In the kitchen, (there) was my sister, being beaten.

Clive · Answer

Yes, I know that.
But he didn't specifically ask for subject-verb inversion, although that may be what he wanted..

AlpheccaStars · Answer

CliveYes, I know that.But he didn't specifically ask for subject-verb inversion, although that may be what he wanted..

Only Lcchang knows...

Clive · Answer

The Shadow knows.

Sentence Inversion

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