0
Guest Posted 22 years ago
Teaching

Would

I need to explain to my TOEFL student why the following sentence should read:
Never in the world would I have believed this would happen-vs-Never in the world I believed this would happen.
Help
  

Top answer

When a negative adjunct (an adverbial) is in pre-subject position there is reversal of subject and verb/operator. In this case, the normal clause order is considered ungrammatical. " Miriam

— Miriam

  • When a negative adjunct (an adverbial) is in pre-subject position there is reversal of subject and verb/operator.
  • In this case, the normal clause order is considered ungrammatical.
  • " Miriam
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.

3 Answers
0
When a negative adjunct (an adverbial) is in pre-subject position there is reversal of subject and verb/operator. In this case, the normal clause order is considered ungrammatical.
Examples:
"Not until yesterday did he change his mind."
"Seldom will you see such disrespectful behaviour in this school."
"Hardly had I finished my dinner when the doorbell rang."

Miriam
0
0
LOL - do you think the students will understand that? You lost me after the first phrase ... what do you mean, miriam?
0
0
The explanation I posted was for the teacher. They must to know themselves what they are going to explain to their students! A teacher is supposed to understand a simple grammatical explanation, then they will find the way to best explain the rule to their own students.
I don't know where most of the teachers who post here are from, but in my country we do learn before we can teach anyone.
0

Related Questions