C1 · grammar

Inversion Exercises (C1) — Free

Inversion after negative and limiting adverbials, and in conditionals

When a sentence starts with a negative or limiting expression such as never, rarely, seldom, little, not only, hardly, no sooner, under no circumstances or only after, the auxiliary goes before the subject, as in a question: Never have I seen such a mess. If there is no auxiliary, add do, does or did: Rarely do we get snow here, not 'Rarely we get snow'. 'Hardly ... when' and 'No sooner ... than' usually take the past perfect: No sooner had we left than it started to rain. With 'Not until' and 'Only after/when', the inversion goes in the main clause, not in the first clause: Not until I moved abroad did I appreciate home. Conditionals can also be inverted by dropping 'if': Had I known = If I had known; Should you need help = If you need help. A common mistake is to invert the main verb instead of the auxiliary, as in 'Never saw I' or 'Little knew she'. Inversion sounds formal or emphatic, so it is typical of writing and speeches. In this exercise, use the words in brackets to complete each gap.