Hi. Why do we use inversion in the following sentence?
A. John is so shy. B. I know. Very rarely does he speak to me.
I would be grateful if you could explain the grammatical structure. Thanks in advance
Comments
Hi, We might use inversion in this case to emphasize the fact that John rarely, if ever, utters a word. Apparently, he cannot overcome his shyness, and therefore hardly talks to the speaker. Inversion is often used for emphasis although it is becoming dated nowadays.
Regards
Hi Regards. Thanks for your input, but it seems, you are not familiar with the structure either. It is not a matter of emphasis, the other version is wrong. saying very rarely he speaks is not erroneous. After certain adverbs, inversion MUST occur, and the other way is wrong. there are similar structures like no sooner, hardly, scarcely
Ex. No sooner/hardly/scarcely had I arrived than the train came.
I just don't know the explanation for such grammatical rules. I asked for further explanations. Thanks anyway
Hi, You do not have to agree with me. However, you should be acutely aware of the language you use when you respond; it may cause offence to some people. You cannot criticize respondents when you do not know the answer to your own question. Last but not least, we can say "He rarely talks to me" or "He talks to me very rarely". We are not obligated to use inversion here.
Regards
hrsaneiWhy do we use inversion in the following sentence? A. John is so shy. B. I know. Very rarely does he speak to me.
It is obligatory in English grammar to invert the subject and the first verb in certain circumstances. These are all cases where the predicate is negated, either totally or partially, with words like no, not, never, hardly, rarely, and only when they occur initially.
Under no circumstances should you try this at home.
Never again would they see him in such a state as that.
Scarcely had they sat down to eat when the fire alarm sounded.
Only after they saw the dismal results did they realize that the project had failed.
If these expressions are not fronted, inversion does not occur.
I'm afraid that there is no explanation other than that this is a requirement of English grammar.
CJ
Don't take it amiss. I started my comment with thank you and ended it with thank you. .I agree with you, I should not criticize the respondents, and I never do. Thay have taken their time to answer my question and I would appreciate their help. You should also be prepared to any challenge.You should not expect praise for any reply you make. Thanks Hrsanei
Thank you very much Jim. That was exactly what I was looking for. So there are two important points, one is that, they should be negative, the other is that, they should appear at the begining of the sentence. Great thanks for your help. Your examples are very helpful.
can someone help me?
i'm studying english but i can´t understand this topic,
my teacher told me to Invert this examples:
-Linda never makes it on time for class
-Sometimes last week students forgot doing homework
-I will often visit my friend when going to their city
literally i don´t understand ANYTHING, i know how to invert the but also, either or, and neither nor sentences.. but not this ones.
We might use inversion in this case to emphasize the fact that John rarely, if ever, utters a word.
Apparently, he cannot overcome his shyness, and therefore hardly talks to the speaker.
Inversion is often used for emphasis although it is becoming dated nowadays.
Regards
Thanks for your input, but it seems, you are not familiar with the structure either.
It is not a matter of emphasis, the other version is wrong. saying very rarely he speaks is not erroneous. After certain adverbs, inversion MUST occur, and the other way is wrong. there are similar structures like no sooner, hardly, scarcely
Ex. No sooner/hardly/scarcely had I arrived than the train came.
I just don't know the explanation for such grammatical rules. I asked for further explanations. Thanks anyway
You do not have to agree with me. However, you should be acutely aware of the language you use
when you respond; it may cause offence to some people. You cannot criticize respondents when you
do not know the answer to your own question. Last but not least, we can say "He rarely talks to me"
or "He talks to me very rarely". We are not obligated to use inversion here.
Regards
It is obligatory in English grammar to invert the subject and the first verb in certain circumstances. These are all cases where the predicate is negated, either totally or partially, with words like no, not, never, hardly, rarely, and only when they occur initially.
Under no circumstances should you try this at home.
Never again would they see him in such a state as that.
Scarcely had they sat down to eat when the fire alarm sounded.
Only after they saw the dismal results did they realize that the project had failed.
If these expressions are not fronted, inversion does not occur.
I'm afraid that there is no explanation other than that this is a requirement of English grammar.
CJ
I started my comment with thank you and ended it with thank you.
.I agree with you, I should not criticize the respondents, and I never do. Thay have taken their time to answer my question and I would appreciate their help.
You should also be prepared to any challenge.You should not expect praise for any reply you make.
Thanks
Hrsanei
That was exactly what I was looking for.
So there are two important points, one is that, they should be negative, the other is that, they should appear at the begining of the sentence.
Great thanks for your help.
Your examples are very helpful.
can someone help me?
i'm studying english but i can´t understand this topic,
my teacher told me to Invert this examples:
-Linda never makes it on time for class
-Sometimes last week students forgot doing homework
-I will often visit my friend when going to their city
literally i don´t understand ANYTHING, i know how to invert the but also, either or, and neither nor sentences.. but not this ones.
help me pls