INVERSION
Questions, conditionals, and
comparisons
WHAT IS INVERSION?
Subject is followed by Predicate
Jane goes to mall every Sunday.
The students can take the test result after this
class.
However, in some occasion, Subject follows
Predicate
Never does Jane go to mall every Sunday.
Can the students take the test result after this
class?
This phenomenon is called INVERSION
to add Emphasis
KINDS OF INVERSION
S + V with Question Words
S + V with Conditionals
S + V with Comparisons
S + V with Place Expressions
S + V with Negatives
INVERSION IN QUESTIONS
To form a question with a helping verb
(be, have, can, could, will, would, etc)
He can
go to the movies.
Can he go to the movies?
You would
tell me the truth.
Would you tell me the truth?
She was
sick yesterday.
Was she sick yesterday?
INVERSION IN QUESTIONS
To form a question without any helping
verbs
He goes to the movies.
Does he go to the movies?
You told me the truth.
Did you tell me the truth?
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH CONDITIONALS
When the verb in the conditional clause is
had, should, or were, it is possible to omit
if and invert the subject and verb.
If I go to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother.
*Go I to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother.
If he has enough vacation days left this year,
he will take two full weeks off in December.
*Has he enough vacation days left this year, he will
take two full weeks off in December.
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH CONDITIONALS
If you should arrive before 6:00, just give me call.
Should you arrive before 6:00, just give me a call.
If you should require any further information,
please contact us at our office in Green Street.
Should you require any further information, please
contact us at our office in Green Street.
If you should see Kate, say hi from me.
Should you see Kate, say hi from me.
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH CONDITIONALS
I would help you if I were in a position to help.
I would help you were I in a position to help.
If I were you, I would stop smoking.
Were I you, I would stop smoking.
If it werent for John, I wouldnt know what to
do now.
Were it not
now.
for John, I wouldnt know what to do
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH CONDITIONALS
If he had taken more time, the results would have
been better.
Had he taken more time, the results would have been
better.
If we had booked our flight earlier, it would have
been cheaper.
Had we booked our flight earlier, it would have been cheaper.
If it hadnt been for your foolishness, we wouldnt
have got lost.
Had it not been for your foolishness, we wouldnt have got
lost.
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH COMPARISONS
My sister spends more hours in the office than John.
My sister spends more hours in the office than John
does.
My sister spends more hours in the office than does
John.
We were more prepared than the other performers.
We were more prepared than the other performers were.
We were more prepared than were the other performers.
INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB
WITH COMPARISONS
She was as delighted with the suggestion as he was.
She was
as delighted with the suggestion as was he.
The closer an object is to another object, the greater is
the gravity between the two objects.
Her face was stony and even stonier was the tone of
her voice.
The harder you study, the higher score is yours.
The more handsome you are, the more popular are you.
REWRITE INTO INVERTED
VERSIONS
If you should require any further information,
please contact us at our office in Green
Street.
If anything had gone wrong with my plan, I
would have been held responsible.
Jessica is more interested in Computer
Science than Benjamin.
You speak Chinese better than I.
Cheetahs run faster than antelopes.
