English word order is rigid — which is exactly why deliberate departures from it carry so much emphasis. This chapter covers the three main emphasis-shifting devices.
Negative inversion
When a negative or restrictive adverbial opens the sentence, subject and auxiliary invert, exactly as in a question:
Triggers include: . If there is no auxiliary, supply :
Inversion applies only when the negative element modifies the whole clause and stands first. \(\to\) And with , there is no inversion: (not )
Negative inversion is emphatic and somewhat literary. One instance electrifies a paragraph; three in a row read like a melodrama. Use it sparingly, at genuine climaxes.
Other inversions
:
:
Fronted place/movement adverbials with verbs of position and motion (full verb inversion): (Not with pronoun subjects: )
After and in formal comparison:
Conditional inversion () — see Chapter [ch:advcond].
Fronting
Any element can move to the front for contrast or flow, usually without inversion:
Object fronting:
Complement fronting:
Whole clause as given information:
Fronting works best when the fronted element links back to the previous sentence (see Chapter [ch:infostructure] on information flow).
Cleft sentences
Clefts split one message into two clauses to spotlight one element.
-clefts
-clause:
Neutral:
Focus on agent:
Focus on object:
Focus on time:
The -cleft asserts its focus and presupposes the rest — ideal for correcting:
-clefts (pseudo-clefts)
-clause + + focus:
Reversed:
With (= the only thing):
-clefts suit speech and set up the focus as the answer to an implied question (). Variants:
— redundant in careful style: \(\to\) or simply
Exercises
Negative inversion Rewrite beginning with the word(s) in brackets.
I have never heard such nonsense. (Never)
The results were published only after two years. (Only after two years)
We had hardly left the house when it began to snow. (Hardly)
You should not open this door under any circumstances. (Under no circumstances)
She not only speaks five languages but also plays three instruments. (Not only)
Clefts Rewrite to emphasize the underlined element, using the cleft type in brackets.
The manager approved the budget. (it-cleft)
I admire her honesty. (wh-cleft)
The show becomes interesting in the second act. (it-cleft)
We just need a little more time. (All…)
Spot the error Correct any errors of inversion; one sentence is already correct.
No sooner we had arrived than the trouble started.
So was strong the wind that trees were uprooted.
Little he knew about what the day would bring.
Only when the test ended did the students relax.
Not until 1920 women could vote in the United States.