INVERSION IN ENGLISH

What is an inversion?

 Certain words and phrases can be put at the beginning of a sentence. When this happens, inversion is used, which means placing the verb before the subject. In cases where the tense does not use an auxiliary verb in the affirmative, such as the present simple or the past simple, one must be added. 

Why do we use an inversion?

 To give emphasis or literary or dramatic effect in formal writing and speech.

 When do we use an inversion?

 1. Inversion after negative adverbs and adverbs expressions:

         Never, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, not once (These are most commonly used with present perfect        or past perfect, or with modals such as can and could.

 

Never have I felt better

Rarely had his father been more helpful.

 

 Hardly…when, barely…when, scarcely…when, no sooner….than  These refer to an event which quickly follows another in the past. They are usually used with past perfect, although no sooner can be followed by past simple.

 

Hardly had I arrived home when the phone rang.

No sooner was she back home than she realized her mistake.

 

-                  Expressions containing the word no: Under no circumstances, On no account, At no time, In              no way.

Under no circumstances can customers pay in cash.

In no way do I agree with you.

     Not since, not until, only after, only then, only if, only when, only once, only by (+ verb-ing): in       these expressions, the inversion comes in the second part of the sentence

 

Only when we arrived home did I realize I had lost my purse

Only by working hard, did he get the job.

 

-                In Not only…….. but also inversion is used.

 

Not only did we lose our money, but also we had an accident.

 

     little with a negative meaning

 

Little do they know how lucky they are to live in such a wonderful house.

 2. Conditional clauses in which, if is replaced

   First conditional: replace if with should

Should he call, please tell me.

-          Second conditional: replace if with were and verb in infinitive with to

Were I to meet the Queen of England, I would be delighted.

-          Third conditional: delete if and invert the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Had I my alarm clock worked, I would not have missed the flight.

 

3. Inversion with so/such ……that

       - so+ adjective/little/few/much/many

                        So little did he know about her that he didn't know her name.

                        So exhausted was she that she fell asleep on the couch.

      - such + noun

                        Such was the film's popularity that the cinema was full every day.

EXERCISES:  1   / 2   / 3   / 4   / 5   / 

C1 ADVANCED(CAE): USE OF ENGLISH EXERCISES WITH ANSWER KEY AND AN EXPLANATION

Although part 1 appears at the beginning of the Use of English, it`s a part of the reading along with parts 5,6,7 and 8. Here are interactive exercises with answer key and an explanation of part 1, 2,3 and 4 to help you prepare and succeed in the Cambridge Cae exam.

PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE CLOZE

exercise 1           exercise 2
exercise 3           exercise 4
exercise 5           exercise 6
exercise 7           exercise 8
exercise 9           exercise 10
exercise 11         exercise 12
exercise 13         exercise 14
exercise 15         exercise 16
exercise 17         exercise 18
exercise 19         exercise 20

PART 2: OPEN CLOZE

exercise 1          exercise 2
exercise 3          exercise 4
exercise 5          exercise 6
exercise 7          exercise 8
exercise 9          exercise 10
exercise 11        exercise 12
exercise 13        exercise 14
exercise 15        exercise 16
exercise 17        exercise 18
exercise 19        exercise 20

PART 3: WORD FORMATION

exercise 1          exercise 2
exercise 3          exercise 4
exercise 5          exercise 6
exercise 7          exercise 8
exercise 9          exercise 10
exercise 11        exercise 12
exercise 13        exercise 14
exercise 15        exercise 16
exercise 17        exercise 18
exercise 19        exercise 20

PART 4: KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

exercise 1         exercise 2
exercise 3         exercise 4
exercise 5         exercise 6
exercise 7         exercise 8
exercise 9         exercise 10
exercise 11       exercise 12
exercise 13       exercise 14
exercise 15       exercise 16
exercise 17       exercise 18
exercise 19       exercise 20

ADVANCED PARTICIPLE CLAUSES

Participle clauses are used to put a lot of information in one sentence. We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same subject. There are three types of participle clauses: the present participle, past participle and perfect participle.
Follow these rules:
1. Relevant information goes in the main clause and the less important in the participle clause.
2. The relative pronouns and the conjunctions as, because and since are left out whereas the conjunctions before and when are used in the participle clause. But, after and while can be both used or left out.

Click here for the video explanation 👀

Now it's time to do exercises with answers:

Matching exercises: exercise 1          exercise 2

Reprasing exercises: exercise on present participle
                                       exercise on past participle
                                       exercise on perfect particple
Rephrasing sentences: exercise 1 / exercise 2 / exercise 3 / exercise 4 / exercise 5

ADVANCED GRAMMAR INVERSION

Inversion is when we invert the structure of a sentence and put the verb before the subject. This is used to add emphasis in written text. Inversion can be used after negative adverbial expressions, adverbial expressions of place, conditional sentences, and so on.

Click here for the video explanation: 👀

Now it´s time to do exercises with answers:

 exercise 1
 exercise 2
 exercise 3
 exercise 4
 exercise 5

E.O.I. LINKS

The internet is full of resources for English students. This is a compilation of websites for those of you who are sitting the E.O.I. Tests shortly, or for those who want to improve their English level. On these websites, you will find many exercises to develop your skills.

1. Modelos pruebas certificadas E.O.I.: these links will take you to detailed information on tests of different E.O.I from all over Spain:  link 1 link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6

2. Cloze tests: a variety of cloze tests.: link 1

3. E.O.I. Blogs:  Inglés en Avilés: choose your level B2 or C1 - listening, reading and writing.
                           Alfonso Hinojosa´s site: choose your level A2 to B2 - listening, reading and writing.

4. Writing: El blog para prepararse el writing de la e.o.i.: writing tips, connectors, linkers, a database of free samples, and links to other sites.

APTIS ADVANCED READING PART 3: MULTIPLE CHOICE

There is a text with about 300 words with missing gaps. You have to choose the right word or phrase from the drop-down to complete the gap.

Here are some links to prepare for the reading:

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

exercise 6

exercise 7

exercise 8

exercise 9

ADVERBS COLLOCATIONS TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING

Writing implies using appropriate vocabulary. Adverbs can strengthen your compositions.

What is an adverb? They are used to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

Adverbs modify verbs for example thoroughly, swiftly and so on to describe the way something is happening.

Adverbs modify adjectives for example rather, unexpectedly, and so on to add more information to an adjective.

Adverbs modify other adverbs for example slightly, highly and so on to show a level of rapidity or to a degree of languidness.

Here are some videos on adverbs collocations:

IMPROVE YOUR READING AND LISTENING

Do you need to improve your reading comprehension, your listening skills or your vocabulary? Have you ever used audiobooks? 

Dr Stephen Krashen said, "Scientific research tells that most of our fluency – our ability to use a language – comes from what we read and hear. Reading and listening have the power to improve vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension (understanding), writing, spelling, TOEFL scores, and more."

Audiobooks can help you to improve your English, so it's time to try it. Choose a book which has the appropriate level for you and read for pleasure. 

Here are some links to audiobooks:

- English graded audiobooks

- English ebooks (graded readers ebooks)

- classic audiobooks 

- audiobooks

- novellas

- short stories

- intermediate

- advanced

- audiobooks and ebooks