Unit 10 : Complex Sentences and Inversions

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers grammatical inversions with negative adverbials, expressions of place, conditional structures, cleft sentences, and the proper use of 'so', 'such', 'too', and 'enough' based on Unit 19 and 20 notes.

Hardly / Scarcely / Barely (… when)

Negative adverbial phrases used with inversion where the auxiliary verb precedes the subject, followed by "when" to describe one action happening immediately after another (e.g., "Hardly had the new law been introduced when the mistake was realised.").

No sooner (… than)

A negative adverbial phrase used with inversion followed by "than" to indicate that one event occurred immediately after another (e.g., "No sooner had the alarm gone off than the police arrived.").

Inversion with only and not until

Grammatical structures where the verb and subject are inverted in the main clause, rather than the subordinate clause (e.g., "Not until the next election will we know…").

At no time/point/stage

Negative phrases requiring inversion to show that an event did not happen during a specific period (e.g., "At no point did I realise that he was the Prime Minister.").

In no way

A negative adverbial phrase used with inversion to state that something does not represent a particular fact or policy (e.g., "In no way does this decision represent a change in government policy.").

Little (Inversion)

An adverb used with inversion to indicate that someone was completely unaware of a situation (e.g., "Little did Ralph know that the burglar was still inside his house.").

Not only (… but also/too)

A structure used with inversion to add emphasizing information about a failure or action (e.g., "Not only has this government failed but it has also stolen ideas…").

On no account / Under no circumstances

Strong negative expressions used with inversion to emphasize that a certain action is strictly forbidden (e.g., "On no account should you try to tackle a burglar yourself.").

Inversions with adverbial expressions of place

Sentences where the verb (often of movement or position) precedes the subject following words like "here," "there," or prepositional/participle phrases (e.g., "Beside the Town Hall stood the public library.").

Inversions in short answers

The use of "so," "neither," or "nor" followed by an auxiliary verb and subject to agree with a previous statement (e.g., "'I don't believe a word…' 'No, neither do I.'").

Inversions after as and than

The placement of the verb before the subject for comparison or addition (e.g., "…as are a lot of the parents" or "…than do officers in other parts").

So / Such (… that) Inversion

Emphatic inversion used when "So" or "Such" begins a sentence to emphasize the degree of a quality (e.g., "So rare is burglary here…" or "Such public interest was there…").

Inversions in conditional sentences

The omission of "if" in formal conditions by starting the sentence with "Were," "Should," or "Had" (e.g., "Had I known about the crime problem, I would never have moved here.").

Cleft sentences

Sentences structured to focus on specific information using patterns like "It is/was…", "What…", or "The person who…" (e.g., "It was Carol who called the police.").

Subject Pronouns in Cleft Sentences

In formal English, the subject pronoun follows "It was" (e.g., "It was I who stole the money"), whereas in informal English, the object pronoun is used (e.g., "It was me that stole the money").

What happens/happened was…

A cleft sentence structure used to describe and emphasize a specific event (e.g., "What happened was that a witness saw the man leave the house.").

So vs. Such

"So" is used before an adjective or adverb, while "Such" is used before a noun phrase; both can be followed by a "that" clause to indicate result (e.g., "so quickly that" or "such a long time that").

Too

A word used to describe something that is more than necessary and has a negative effect; it is distinct from "very" or "extremely" (e.g., "The police responded too slowly").

Enough

A word indicating sufficiency that usually appears before nouns but after adjectives and adverbs (e.g., "enough police officers" vs. "quick enough").