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Noname 8048 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

What are all possible inversion?

I'm trying to figure out if all inversion can be organized so I can acquaint it for possible confusion regarding it.
By organizing I mean a sentence like 'little did we know' and another one like "little could they have known" to be simplified as little + Verb + Subject.....so on (I'm not sure if this is right)

If there's so many inversions like this to organize, what is best way to learn them?
  

Top answer

Subject-verb inversion occurs in questions and in initial negative adverbials, including those that are only partially negative like 'little' and 'hardly', and after initial "only" phrases. If there is no auxiliary verb to do the inversion with, you add a form of do before inverting. Never has he done that before.

— CalifJim

  • Subject-verb inversion occurs in questions and in initial negative adverbials, including those that are only partially negative like 'little' and 'hardly', and after initial "only" phrases.
  • If there is no auxiliary verb to do the inversion with, you add a form of do before inverting.
  • Never has he done that before.
  • < He has never done that before.
  • In no case should you ever open the letter.
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3 Answers
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Subject-verb inversion occurs in questions and in initial negative adverbials, including those that are only partially negative like 'little' and 'hardly', and after initial "only" phrases.

If there is no auxiliary verb to do the inversion with, you add a form of do before inverting.

Never has he done that before. < He has never done that before.
In no cas
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Thank you !
And just one more question, does same rule apply to literary sentences?
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Yes, though there is always the possibility that an author may be trying unusual structures as part of his style.

CJ
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