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NEGATIVE INVERSION

• We use negative inversion (to add emphasis (special meaning) to a sentence)
• Negative inversion can sound quite formal, but it is also used in more informal contexts for dramatic effect.
• After a negative adverb or phrase the word order changes

Negative adverbial + auxiliary verb + subject + clause

1. I had never felt so afraid. → Never had I felt so afraid. 
2. I could find my keys. → Nowhere could I find my keys.

Some common adverbs and adverbial phrases are:

seldom/rarely 
never/at no time
hardly/barely/scarcely ... when ...
under no circumstances/ in no way / no sooner 
not only ... but also ...
little (did I/they know/ imagine ...)

• Notice that if the auxiliary verb is negative in the first sentence, it becomes affirmative in the inverted sentence and the ‘not’ moves to the front.

 

- You should not leave this room for any reason.

Under (no) circumstances should you leave this room.

• In cases where the tense does not use an auxiliary verb in the affirmative, such as the present simple or the past simple, one must be added.


Present Simple:

1. I rarely go outside. → Rarely do I go outside. 

2.They don't ever know what to do. → Never do they know what to do. 

3.She almost never loses. → Scarcely does she lose.

Past Simple: (Notice how the verb changes from past tense to infinitive

1. She seldom worked very hard. → Seldom did she work very hard.

2. We never went lo the shopping centre. → At not time did we go to the shopping centre. 

3. He didn’t react at all. → In no way did he react.