Inversion PPT for grade 9

2. The term inversion refers to an irregular verb placement
form and it covers two different grammatical
operations.
Inversion happens when we reverse (invert) the normal Word
order of a structure, most commonly the subject-verb
order.
For example, a statement has the subject before the verb, but
we invert the subject and the verb.
Example: It was raining all day at the wedding, and the band
was late.
Not only was it raining all day at the wedding but the band
also was late.

3. 1. Using a question form of the main verb
“Not only did he get late to work, but also
came completely unprepared for the
meeting”.
2. Changing the normal positions of verb and
subject, mainly for emphasis.
“Along came Polly”.
“Up in the air went the balloon”.

4. In question forms Is Sacramento the capital of
California?
When we use a negative adverb or
adverb phrase at the beginning of the
sentence
Hardly had I closed my door when I
realized I had lost the keys.
Rarely has he got mark 10 in Math.
When using: “not until, not since, only
after, only when, only by.” The
inversion comes in the second part of
the sentence.
Not until l asked a passer-by did I
know where I was.
Not since I was a kid have I eaten a
bowl of cereal.
We can use inversion after:
“so/such…that.”
So Loud was the noise that I couldn’t
work.
Such was a day that we will all
remember forever.
We can use inversion instead of “if” in
conditionals with “ had, were, and
should.”
Had he trained hard, he would have
won the match.
We can use inversion with “so, neither,
nor” to express agreement.
“I Love reading” – “So do I.”

5.  When the adverbial occurs at the beginning of a clause (formal
language).
“Never have I been more insulted!”
 After time expressions such as never, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely,
scarcely, no sooner.
“Seldom have I felt so alone”
“Scarcely had I got out of bed when the doorbell rang”
 After only (only after, only then, only when…)
“Only after understanding the situation does the
teacher make a comment”
 After phrases containing no/not (under no circumstances, no account, at
no time, in no way, on no condition, not until, not only…(but also))
“Under no circumstances can you leave this house!”
“Not only will she have to study hard, but she will also
have to concentrate to do well on the exams”
 After little.
“Little have I read concerning nanotechnology”

6.  This occurs with so and adjectives when the main verb is be.
 It is used for emphasis and is more common than the example with
such. It only happens if so/such is the first word in the clause.
 So + adjective ... that' combines with the verb 'to be'.
“So difficult is the test that students need three months to prepare”.
 Such + to be + noun ... (that)‘.
“Such was the force of the storm that trees were uprooted”.

7. Sometimes conditional forms are inverted as a means of
sounding more formal. In this case, the conditional 'if' is
dropped and the inverted forms takes the place of the 'if
clause'. This makes the event less likely.
“Had he understood the problem, he wouldn't have committed
those mistakes”
(If he had understood the problem,…)
“Should he decide to come, please telephone”.
(If he decides to come, …)
“Had I known you were coming, I would have cooked something
special”
(If I had known you were coming, …)

8. INVERSION AFTER AS
This is more common in formal or written language.
“We were really tired, as were most people who came to the trip”
INVERSION AFTER SO, NEITHER AND NOR
“A: I don´t like onions; B: Neither do I”.