LÍNGUA INGLESA ESTRUTURA SINTÁTICA II-AULA05

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DESCRIPTION
Presentation and discussion of different English structures that show syntactic inversions:
auxiliaries, interrogative and negative sentences, tag questions, conditional structures, and
others.
PURPOSE
Discussing English inversion processes, their formal and semantic characteristics, is extremely
important for English learners and future language teachers as well. The structural differences
between languages and the peculiarities regarding the cases of English inversion demand a
formal treatment of the subject.
PREPARATION
Before beginning this Unit, just make sure you have a good English dictionary at hand. There
are many good online options, and we surely recommend both the Merriam-Webster and the
Cambridge dictionaries.
GOALS
SECTION 1
To analyze the functioning of inversion
SECTION 2
To describe general inversion cases: interrogative sentences and tag questions
SECTION 3
To employ inversion strategies in negative structures
SECTION 4
To identify special cases of inversion: intensifiers, conditional structures, and others
INTRODUCTION
The linguistic expression used to refer to the most common word order patterns of a language is
“canonical word order”.
THE ENGLISH CANONICAL WORD ORDER MOSTLY
FOLLOWS THE SUBJECT-VERB (SV) PATTERN.
In this sense, SV, subject-verb-object (SVO), subject-verb-predicate (SVpred), subject-verb-
adverbial (SVA) clauses, among others, are the most common patterns in this language.
However, despite English’s tendency to present a more rigid word order pattern, it also presents
other possible patterns such as the verb-subject (VS) word order or other clauses analogous to
VS word order. These clauses can be divided into two broad groups:
Interrogative sentences
Cases of inversion
Many cases of inversion are linked to discursive pressures of language usage or to more
flexible word order possibilities. We will talk about these issues in this Unit: the presentation of
different contexts in which inversion occurs in English.
SECTION 1
 To analyze the functioning of inversion
AUXILIARY VERBS IN ENGLISH AND THE
FUNCTIONING OF INVERSION
Verbs in general have two basic characteristics: they can be full verbs (main verbs) or
auxiliary verbs. An important aspect of the English language related to the way the verbal item
behaves concerns the role played by main and auxiliary verbs in this language. In this section
we aim at revisiting the literature concerning auxiliary verbs to relate English verbal auxiliarity
with English verbal inversion, especially in questions.
Full verbs can stand alone as the entire verb phrase, as we see in sentence (a); or be part of
the whole predicate, as seen in sentence (b), but they will always contribute to the lexical
meaning of the verb phrase:
 
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(a) The baby slept.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
(b) The boy played the guitar at the party.
In sentence (a), the whole predicate is represented by the verb to sleep itself. In sentence (b),
the predicate is represented by the combination of the verb to play, its complement, in this
case, the noun phrase the guitar and the adverbial at the party.
In contrast, auxiliary verbs occur together with the main verb in general playing some
morphosyntactic or modality function. There are, in fact, three major classes of verbs in English:
Lexical verbs
They function exclusively as main verbs (e.g., sleep, play).
Primary verbs
They have main and auxiliary functions (e.g., be, have and do).
Modal verbs
They function exclusively as auxiliary verbs (e.g., can, will, may).
An important aspect regarding primary and modal verbs is that they have one important
syntactic function in common: they become the operator of a finite verb phrase, forming
interrogative clauses by being placed in front of the subject, in what we call subject-operator
inversion, as we see in:
 
Image: Shutterstock.com, adpted by Yuri Cooke
THE BABY WILL SLEEP.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
WILL THE BABY SLEEP?
THE BOY IS PLAYING THE GUITAR AT THE PARTY.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
IS THE BOY PLAYING THE GUITAR AT THE PARTY?
The operator is an element found in finite clauses and is required in special structures,
particularly in independent interrogative clauses. It is worth noticing that in English questions the
operator is inverted, as we saw before, being placed before the subject. The operator’s role
may emerge as:
The first auxiliary in the verb phrase:
YOU ARE JOKING
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
ARE YOU JOKING?
The auxiliary do:
WHERE DO YOU STUDY?
The copular verb be:
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
PRIMARY VERBS AND ENGLISH
INVERSIONS
The primary verbs be, have and do, as we stated before, can serve both the functions of
main and auxiliary verbs.
As a full verb, be has a copular function, serving to link the subject noun phrase with a
subject predicative or an adverbial as we see in:
COPULAR
In Linguistics, it refers to a word used to link the subject of a clause with its
complement. Copulas are most often verbs and are frequently known as “linking
verbs”.
I THINK IT IS RED.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
As an auxiliary verb, however, it has two distinct functions. The be verb is an operator
that marks progressive aspect and the use of the passive voice.
Be has a whole set of finite and nonfinite forms (am/are/is/was/were/being/been) and
some of which are placed in front of the subject in English interrogatives marking the
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progressive aspect and the passive voice:
PRESENT/PAST/FUTURE
SENTENCES
AUXILIARY
FUNCTION
INTERROGATIVE
INVERSION
She is still doing it.
progressive
aspect
Is she still doing it?
You are going too slowly
progressive
aspect
Are you going too
slowly?
Ann is learning Spanish
progressive
aspect
Is Ann learning
Spanish?
The group is going to be
called
passive voice
Is the group going to be
called?
They were hit by the truck passive voice
Were they hit by the
truck?
Ann was awarded a prize passive voice
Was Ann awarded a
prize?
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Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
The verb have also has the functions of a main verb and of an auxiliary verb. As a main
transitive verb, have may mark different kinds of logical relations (physical possession,
food consumption, family connection etc.):
 
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PHYSICAL POSSESSION
We have a big house on the beach.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
FOOD CONSUMPTION
The boys had scrambled eggs.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
FAMILY CONNECTION
We have a toddler at home.
As an auxiliary verb have (have/has/had) serves only one auxiliary function: combined
with verbs in the past participle, it is the marker of the perfect aspect and is placed in
front of the subject in the interrogative form:
THE CAT HAS SWALLOWED THE FOOD.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
HAS THE CAT SWALLOWED THE FOOD?
I HAVE FINISHED THE PAPER.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
HAVE I FINISHED THE PAPER?
Finally, the do verb, like be and have, can be both an auxiliary and a main verb. As a main
verb, it can be either transitive or intransitive, playing different roles in the language,
including ones related to idiomatic meanings:
Transitive verb
I didn’t do it.
Intransitive verb
He doesn’t know you but she does!
Idiomatic
She is doing the dishes.
As an auxiliary verb, do has present and past forms (do/does/did) and may play the role
of do-support in questions (and negative sentences) and of emphatic do, as we see in
the following:
DO-SUPPORT 
(interrogative inversions)
EMPHATIC DO
Does she honestly think so? I did have time for that!
Did you two talk today? He does think fast!
Do you both agree with that? You do know how to drive!
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Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
MODAL VERBS AND ENGLISH INVERSIONS
Modal verbs, or modal auxiliaries, are used to build-up complex verb phrases. Modal
auxiliariescannot occur alone, since they express a wide range of meanings that joined
with the meaning of the main verb contribute to the ultimate meaning of the verb phrase.
 LEARN MORE
The modal auxiliaries can only occur alone in a sentence if the meaning of the
lexical/main verb is recoverable from the context.
These are the nine central English modal auxiliaries:
Can
Could
May
Might
Must
Shall
Will
Would
Modal auxiliaries also differ from lexical verbs and primary verbs (auxiliaries) in that they
have no non-finite forms.
 FRIENDLY REMINDER
Non-finite forms: forms that do not show tense, person or number (infinitive, gerund and
participle). Ex: I need to study more.
Finite forms: forms that show tense, person, and number. Ex: She goes to the movies
once a week.
Despite not having non-finite forms, modal auxiliaries have contracted forms:
WOULD

’D
WILL

’LL
The meanings conveyed by modal auxiliaries have to do with concepts such as ability,
permission, necessity, and obligation.
In fact, some modal verbs can also convey meanings that relate to tense differences.
Meaning differences, however, among modal verbs are more related to their modality role
rather than to their tense role. The following modal verbs express tense information
regardless of their central modal roles:
Modals referring to non-past time Modals referring to past time
Can Could
May Might
Will Would
Shall Should
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Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
There are several meaning distinctions between these pairs of modals, with their main
functions relating to the speaker’s stance rather than time (present, past or future). The
concepts of ability, permission, necessity, obligation and volition/prediction seem to be
the basic meaning of modal verbs. Thus, modals can be grouped into three major
categories according to their main meanings:
Permission / Possibility / Ability Can / Could / May / Might
Obligation / Necessity Must / Should
Volition / Prediction Will / Would / Shall
 Attention! Drag to the sides to see the full table.
Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
A prominent aspect concerning modal verbs in English is the inversion of the modal verb
in interrogative sentences. In questions, modal verbs are placed in the beginning of the
sentence, before the subject, that is followed by the main verb.
ONCE AGAIN MODAL VERBS FOLLOW THE SAME PARADIGM
FOR QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH, SINCE THEY OPERATE LIKE
REGULAR AUXILIARY VERBS TAKING THE INITIAL POSITION
OF THE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE.
The group of central modals form a homogeneous group regarding their modality role.
However, other categories of verbs are in an intermediate position between auxiliaries
and main verbs, playing marginal aspects regarding modality and lexical roles. These are
called marginal modal auxiliaries, some of which are the verbs be used to, ought to, dare
and need.
Another important group of less central modal verbs is the group of expressions called
semi-modals. Unlike central modals, they can be marked for tense and person and can
occur as non-finite forms and, in the infinitive, they can occur with a central modal verb
or even another semi-modal verb.
Two categories form this particular group of modal verbs:
Modal idioms
Combinations of an auxiliary and an infinitive verb or adverb. None of them have non-
finite forms and they are the first verbs in the verb phrases: had better, would better,
have got to and be to.
Semi-auxiliaries
Verb idioms which are introduced by one of the primary verbs have or be. They have
non-finite forms and can occur in combination with preceding auxiliaries: be able to, be
about to, be likely to, be supposed to, have to, be going to etc.
Regarding syntactic patterns for interrogative sentences with these verbs, it is important
to observe that the use of the be verb as the operator happens in most cases, but not
always. As an operator, the verb introduces the question as regularly happens in other
cases of subject-operator inversions.
Modal idioms will present different patterns of inversion. It will be the case that in
questions with certain modal idioms: (i) part of the modal verb turns to be the initial word
of the question, (ii) do-support may be required or (iii) in some situations, inversion may
be totally constrained. These are regularities, however, that may vary in different
linguistic varieties.
The following sentences illustrate some interrogative patterns with semi-modal verbs:
 EXAMPLE
Does she need to grow up a bit more?
Is she supposed to know that?
Do you think you might need to get back soon?
Are the teachers going to have to be there?
The main subject discussed in this section was the English syntactic inversion
phenomenon in the context of modal and auxiliary verbs. We have seen that this point
relates to a major pattern of interrogative sentences in English, but not only, given that in
contexts beginning with certain elements, such as negative adverbials, inversion is also
mandatory.
WORD ORDER
One final aspect regarding inversion with English auxiliary verbs, operators and modal
verbs relates to word order.
 FRIENDLY REMINDER
The typical word order in English is Subject-Verb-(Complement/Adverbial), or SV(C/A).
Sentences in the affirmative and negative forms in English follow the canonical SVC
word order. English interrogative sentences, on the other hand, do not follow the
prototypical canonical SVC Word order. They follow the Verb (auxiliary/modal)-Subject-
Verb-(Complement), or VSV(C) Word order, as we see in the following:
SVC/A
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
VSV(C)
Now, compare some affirmative and negative sentences with their corresponding
interrogative inversions:
TEACHERS ARE GOING THERE
TEACHERS ARE NOT GOING THERE
ARE TEACHERS GOING THERE?
WE SHOULD HAVE PROBLEMS AT SCHOOL
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE PROBLEMS AT SCHOOL
SHOULD WE HAVE PROBLEMS AT SCHOOL?
THEY COULD WATCH THAT MOVIE
THEY COULD NOT WATCH THAT MOVIE
COULD THEY WATCH THAT MOVIE?
THAT BOY IS HANDSOME
THAT BOY IS NOT HANDSOME
IS THAT BOY HANDSOME?
WE HAVE TO STAY HERE
WE DON’T HAVE TO STAY HERE
DO WE HAVE TO STAY HERE?
LET’S PRACTICE?
DEMONSTRATION
Now let’s compare two utterances!
Imagine you are with a group of friends, and, for some reason, the topic of movies is
brought up. Someone starts talking about science fiction movies and is impressed by
your knowledge on the topic. Amazed, the person turns to you and asks:
“Do you like science fiction?”
 
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Since the question occurs in a context of extreme disbelief, your only possible answer
is: “Yes, I do like science fiction”. Notice that even though the auxiliary do is being used
in both cases, it serves distinct purposes.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY WHY DO IS BEING USED IN BOTH
UTTERANCES?
IS THE REASON MAINLY SYNTACTIC OR DOES IT
SERVE ANY SEMANTIC PURPOSE?
ANSWER
In the first utterance ― “Do you like science fiction?” ―, do is part of an interrogative
structure, and the subject-verb inversion is due to the phenomenon we previously called
do-support, referring to the role the auxiliary plays in questions and negative sentences.
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“I do not like sports” and “Do you like sports?” are examples of this usage. In both
sentences do’s role is mainly grammatical, since it has little lexical meaning.
In the utterance: “I do like science fiction”, though, do’s role is not grammatical. It is
important to the meaning being conveyed.
Do is being used there to emphasize the fact that I like science fiction. It is, then, what we
call: emphatic do.
 TIP
Emphatic do is used whenever the speaker wants to emphasize, highlight something the
interlocutor may think otherwise.
HANDS ON
1. VERBS CAN BE CLASSED INTO LEXICAL, MODAL AND PRIMARY
VERBS. CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE THAT CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE OF
A MODAL VERB:
A) She might come tomorrow.
B) She hasn’tcome yet.
C) Has she come?
D) She has a cat.
E) She had called before she came.
2. IN ENGLISH INTERROGATIVE UTTERANCES FOLLOW A DISTINCT
PATTERN OF WORD ORDER. CHOOSE THE ONLY OPTION WHICH
EXEMPLIFIES THE GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT USE OF AN
INTERROGATIVE STRUCTURE:
A) What is that?
B) She is coming?
C) When she is coming?
D) I do like cooking.
E) She can cook?
3. AS AN AUXILIARY VERB DO, IN ITS PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE
FORMS, CAN PLAY THE ROLE OF DO-SUPPORT OR OF EMPHATIC-DO.
CHOOSE THE ONLY OPTION THAT CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE OF DO-
SUPPORT BEING CORRECTLY USED.
A) I did that.
B) I do sports regularly.
C) Do you eat meat?
D) I do enjoy that!
E) I used to do yoga.
4. MODAL VERBS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONVEYING CERTAIN
CONCEPTS, SUCH AS OBLIGATION, PERMISSION, NECESSITY, ABILITY,
LIKELIHOOD. CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE IN WHICH A MODAL VERB
EXPRESSING PERMISSION IS BEING USED IN ITS INTERROGATIVE
FORM:
A) Can you dance?
B) Must you go?
C) Will she come?
D) May I come in?
E) Would you come if you could?
5. THE VERB TO BE AS AN AUXILIARY VERB HAS TWO DIFFERENT
FUNCTIONS. IT CAN BE BOTH AN OPERATOR THAT MARKS THE
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT OR AN OPERATOR THAT MARKS THE USE OF
THE PASSIVE VOICE. THAT BEING SAID, WHICH ALTERNATIVE
EXEMPLIFIES THE INTERROGATIVE INVERSION OF A PASSIVE
STRUCTURE?
A) Are you coming tomorrow?
B) Was she here before?
C) Was she dancing when you arrived?
D) Is there anyone sitting here?
E) Was she given an explanation?
6. THERE IS A GROUP OF LESS CENTRAL MODAL VERBS WHICH ARE
CALLED SEMI-MODALS. THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE EXEMPLIFIES
SUCH A USE: SHE’S SUPPOSED TO TURN IN THE ASSIGNMENT. WHICH
OPTION PRESENTS THE SAME SENTENCE IN ITS CORRECT
INTERROGATIVE FORM:
A) Is she supposed to turn in the assignment?
B) Does she supposed to turn in the assignment?
C) She’s supposed to turn in the assignment?
D) Supposed she to turn in the assignment?
E) Will she supposed to turn in the assignment?
GABARITO
1. Verbs can be classed into lexical, modal and primary verbs. Choose the alternative
that contains an example of a modal verb:
Option "A" is correct. 
Might is a modal verb and together with the main verb come it forms the verb phrase. In
this case, the modal verb is expressing likelihood.
2. In English interrogative utterances follow a distinct pattern of word order. Choose the
only option which exemplifies the grammatically correct use of an interrogative
structure:
Option "A" is correct. 
Only option “A” presents the grammatical correct use of interrogative structures.
Whenever we ask a question in English the verb precedes the subject, that is, an
inversion takes place.
3. As an auxiliary verb do, in its present, past and future forms, can play the role of do-
support or of emphatic-do. Choose the only option that contains an example of do-
support being correctly used.
Option "C" is correct. 
The auxiliary do, is used in interrogative utterances. When this is the case, it precedes
the subject in a phenomenon called inversion. The only option that exemplifies this use
is letter "C". The other options either show examples of do as a main verb or playing the
role of an emphatic-do.
4. Modal verbs are responsible for conveying certain concepts, such as obligation,
permission, necessity, ability, likelihood. Choose the alternative in which a modal verb
expressing permission is being used in its interrogative form:
Option "D" is correct. 
In interrogative sentences the modal verb comes before the subject, in this case, the
personal pronoun; there is, then, an inversion. Even though all options show the correct
use of inversion in interrogative sentences, only in letter “D” permission is being
conveyed.
5. The verb to be as an auxiliary verb has two different functions. It can be both an
operator that marks the progressive aspect or an operator that marks the use of the
passive voice. That being said, which alternative exemplifies the interrogative inversion
of a passive structure?
Option "E" is correct. 
The passive structure is formed whenever the verb to be, whether in its present, past or
future forms, is combined with the past participle of the main verb. The only option that
exemplifies this structure is letter “E” since was is combined with given. And since it is
an interrogative structure, inversion takes place.
6. There is a group of less central modal verbs which are called semi-modals. The
following sentence exemplifies such a use: She’s supposed to turn in the assignment.
Which option presents the same sentence in its correct interrogative form:
Option "A" is correct. 
Syntactic patterns for interrogative sentences with “supposed to” refer to the use of the
BE verb as the operator. As an operator, the verb introduces the question as regularly
happens in other cases of subject-operator inversions.
GABARITO
THEORY IN PRACTICE
All along we have been discussing different types of verbs – full, auxiliary, and modal
verbs – and how interrogative sentences beg for a different pattern of word order. This
happens quite naturally on a daily basis, be it in quotidian conversations, or even in
movies and TV series. Bearing this in mind, let’s analyze a dialogue!
A: Tell me about this guy you’re going out with.
B: Well, he’s nice…
A: Nice? Come on! Tell me more! What does he do? How old is the guy?
B: He’s just some lawyer guy. He may be 30, I guess.
A: Seriously, you don’t know? What’s his name, anyway? Does he have a last name?
B: John...
A: Have you guys even talked?
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
WORKING IT OUT
We can notice basically two patterns of word order. When the speaker says: “Tell me
about this guy you’re going out with!”, the pronoun you occupies the subject position
and is followed by a verb in the present progressive (are going). Go is the main verb of
the verb phrase and is directly preceded by the verb to be. Therefore, the sentence
follows a common pattern (SV). No inversion is perceived.
In the questions, however, another pattern is used. In “What does he do” and in “Does he
have a last name?” the subject he is preceded by the auxiliary verb does, an inversion,
then, occurs.
Interrogative sentences in English beg for a different word order and this usually occurs
when an auxiliary verb precedes the subject. In informal contexts, though, as the one
previously analyzed, sometimes auxiliary verbs are omitted altogether and intonation is
used instead, such as in “Nice?”. Depending on the context, inversion may not even
occur as in: “Seriously, you don’t know?”. But this is, of course, only possible in very
informal settings and does not constitute a rule.
LEARNING CHECK
1. CONCERNING THE PRIMARY VERBS BE, HAVE AND DO IT IS
POSSIBLE TO SAY THAT:
A) As a full verb, be has a copular function.
B) As a full verb, have has a copular function.
C) They are all operators that mark the passive voice.
D) They are all operators that mark progressive aspect.
E) They cannot serve the functions of main and auxiliary verbs.
2. ABOUT THE AUXILIARY VERB DO, IT IS CORRECT TO SAY THAT:
A) It has only present forms.
B) It has present and past forms.
C) It may play the role of emphatic do in questions.
D) It may play the role of do-support in affirmative sentences in the past.
E) It may play the role of do-support in affirmative sentences in the present.
GABARITO
1. Concerning the primary verbs be, have and do it is possible to say that:
Option "A " is correct.
 
Verb be may be a copular verb in its full form, whereas have and do may not. The verb to
be in its full form, then, links the subject to the predicate.
2. About the auxiliary verb do, it is correct to say that:
Option "B " is correct.
 
Verb do has present and past forms and may play both the roles of do-support and
emphatic do. Therefore, the only option that contains a true statement is the second one.
SECTION 2
 To describe general inversion cases: interrogative sentences and tag questions
INDEPENDENT INTERROGATIVECLAUSES
This next section is dedicated to the discussion on inversion in the context of
interrogative sentences and question tags. We will initially address a discussion on the
English interrogative patterns and the inversion phenomenon.
We start our discussion on the English interrogative patterns and the inversion
phenomenon by presenting the definition of independent clauses: clauses that are not
part of any larger sentence structure, but that may contain embedded clauses or be
coordinated ones. Independent clauses, or sentences, are used to perform speech-act
functions.
SPEECH-ACT
Speech acts play great roles in communication. In linguistics, a speech act is any of
the acts performed when a speaker makes an utterance. This utterance is then
defined in terms of a speaker's intention and the effect it has on a listener.
Requests, warnings, promises, apologies, advice, greetings, and a great number of
declarations are examples of speech acts.
ELICITING IS A VERY IMPORTANT SPEECH-ACT FUNCTION.
Through eliciting we ask for information and, of course, expect some sort of linguistic
response. There is a broad correspondence between eliciting and one structural type in
English: the use of a particular word order (the subject in relation to the verb phrase) and
the possible use of a wh-word. In English, there are three main types of questions:
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Wh-questions
Where are we going?
Yes-no questions
Is this a pub?
Alternative questions
Is this a pub or a library?
The general construction underlying these sentences may be represented by:
[Wh-word]
Verb (operator)
Subject
Main verb
Wh-questions are used when we ask about missing information:
WH-WORD VERB (OPERATOR) SUBJECT {MAIN VERB}
{COMPLEMENT}
Who are you?
Where are you?
What are you doing?
Why are you so angry?
What do you prefer ?
Yes-no questions are used to invite the addressee to indicate whether a proposition is
true or not:
VERB (OPERATOR) SUBJECT {MAIN VERB}
{COMPLEMENT}
Are they married?
Are they going?
Are you mad?
Do you like chocolate?
Am I right?
Alternative questions are used to invite the addressee to select among the alternatives
presented:
VERB (OPERATOR) SUBJECT {MAIN VERB}
{COMPLEMENT}
Do you prefer cats or dogs?
Would you buy a car or a bicycle?
Would you get married or buy a bicycle?
Are you going there or somewhere else?
Are you a man or a mouse?
Thus, independent interrogative clauses have one important syntactic function in
common:
THE OPERATOR IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE SUBJECT,
MAKING A SORT OF SUBJECT-OPERATOR INVERSION.
The operator is an element found in finite clauses and is required in special structures,
particularly in independent interrogative clauses.
In English questions the operator is inverted, as we saw before, being placed before the
subject, and may emerge as, for example:
The first auxiliary in the verb phrase
Is he going there?
The auxiliary do 
 
Where does he work?
The copular verb be 
 
Am I your neighbor?
YES-NO QUESTIONS
Yes-no questions are usually formed by placing the operator before the subject and
giving the sentence a rising intonation. All the elements in the sentence are taken to be
known by the addressee, who has to supply a truth value for a certain question by saying
Yes or No. When there is no item in the sentence that may play the role of the operator,
the auxiliary do (whether in the present or past) is used:
WE SHOULD ALL STAY HERE
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
SHOULD WE ALL STAY HERE?
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
The group has left the party.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Has the group left the party?
In speaking, it is possible to place the nuclear stress on a particular part of a yes-no
question, bringing, this way, the focus of the question to a specific item of information
that is likely unknown. The focus of the question may fall on different parts of a
sentence. The following set of sentences illustrates that and the words in bold are the
highlighted information:
Sometimes the yes-no question may be answered with the indication of different degrees
of certainty or with elliptic operator. Also, yes-no questions may be used for purposes
rather than asking for information, like expressing exclamations, making a command or a
request:
Use of an adverbial of certainty
Do you think he will be ok? Undoubtedly!
Elliptic are operator
You alright? I certainly am.
Expressing exclamations
Isn’t that lovely?
Making a request
Will you hand it in tomorrow, ok?
Making a command
Can we shut the damn window?
As we can see, not only is the interaction of subject-verb operator inversion and yes-no
questions related to the function of elicitation, but also to other important
communicative functions carried out by a same structural pattern, such as requests,
commands and exclamations, as seen before.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com.
WH-QUESTIONS
Wh-questions are formed with the aid of one of the following interrogative pronouns (or
wh-words), that comes first in the sentence and is followed by the operator:
who
whom
whose
what
which
when
where
why
how
The wh-word indicates an element to be specified by the addressee, while the rest of the
sentence is taken to be known. The element to be specified can be any clause element,
like the subject, the object, an adverbial etc. Also, wh-questions generally have falling
intonation. The following set of questions illustrates wh-questions and indicates different
clause elements to be specified:
 
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SUBJECT
Who is coming for Xmas?
 
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OBJECT
What did you buy for me?
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
ADVERBIAL
When will you go there?
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
PREDICATIVE
How was your trip?
The normal SV word order is altered in wh-questions not only by the initial wh-element
but also by the inversion of subject and operator, except when the wh-element is the
subject. Subject-operator inversion is the same in its application to yes-no questions: in
case there is no operator, do is the emergent operator in the question.
ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS
Alternative questions are structurally similar to yes-no questions, since they present
subject-operator inversion. However, instead of expecting a yes/no answer the addresser
presents alternatives for the addressee to pick from.
DO YOU PREFER THIS OR THAT?
WOULD YOU LIKE CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA ICE-CREAM?
In fact, alternative questions also resemble wh-questions in function. They both ask for
specification of unknown elements. Such discourse-related function relates alternative
questions and wh-ones, while the structural aspects regarding subject-operator
inversion relate all types of questions.
AUXILIARY DO IN INDEPENDENT
INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES
We saw that in case there is no operator in subject-operator inversion, do is the
emergent operator in the question.
Another important issue regarding the interaction of subject-verb operator inversion and
independent interrogative clauses is that with certain verbs there is variation in the
presence or absence of the auxiliary do.
The transitive verb have (got) and the semi-modal have to have three main types of
questions forms:
Lexical verb construction with do
Do you have time for that? 
Do you have to tell me that?
Auxiliary construction without do
Have you time for that? 
Have you to tell me that?
Have got (to) constructions:
Have you got time for that? 
Have you got to tell me that?
Similar variations happen with dare, need, ought to and used to:
Lexical verb construction with do
Do you need to go somewhere? 
Did you use to play tennis?
Auxiliary construction without do
Need you to go somewhere? 
Ought I to take it?
TAG QUESTIONS
One important principle concerning oral production turns to the possibility that we
qualify, through reinforcement, for example, what has been said. In speaking, there may
be the need to elaborateand modify the message retrospectively. In other words, there
may be the need to ‘tag on’ this information as an afterthought.
The tendency to add elements as an afterthought to a grammatical unity may take place
through different strategies, like the adding of tags: retrospective qualifications loosely
attached to the preceding clausal material.
 IMPORTANT
Question tags, or tag questions, are a special kind of tags in English. They have an
interactive function of eliciting the hearer’s agreement or confirmation or may have a role
of retrospective qualification:
Joan visited you, didn’t she? [Surely Joan visited you.]
The cab hasn’t left, has it? [Surely the cab hasn’t left.]
Question tags have the form of yes-no questions and consist of an operator and a
personal pronoun. The operator is the same as the one in the clause to which it is
appended and if there is no form to serve as an operator auxiliary do is inserted. The
personal pronoun is co-referent with the subject of the preceding clause.
CO-REFERENT
Referring to the same person or thing.
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THE MAIN CLAUSE AND THE TAG QUESTION ARE
GENERALLY OPPOSITE IN POLARITY (POSITIVE OR
NEGATIVE).
That is, for the most common types of tag questions, the tag question is negative, if the
statement is positive and vice versa. The nuclear tone of a tag falls on the operator and
is either rising or falling. The following examples illustrate positive and negative tag
questions and the distribution of rising-falling tones (in bold):
POSITIVE STATEMENT + NEGATIVE TAG
NEGATIVE STATEMENT + POSITIVE TAG
Each of the four sentences above provide a different meaning and could be somewhat
addressed as “I assume he likes his job, am I right? or “I assume he doesn’t like his job,
am I right?”.
A tag with a rising tone
Invites verification, expecting the hearer to decide the truth of the proposition in the
statement.
A tag with a falling tone
Invites confirmation of the statement and has the force of an exclamation rather than
being a genuine question, since the truth of the question may be even self-evident.
Tags are not always strictly modelled in the main clause. Due to changes in the course of
speaking, different kinds of subject-operator inversion may occur. The following
examples illustrate cases in which Tag questions were used that do not present main
clause structural dependency. Different discourse motivations trigger the emergence of
these tags:
New addressee
He’s always sad, when he wakes up, aren’t you boy?
Afterthought
I don’t think she will like it, would she?
Imperative
Listen, keep this between us, won’t you?
 SUM UP
In all these cases we see that verb-subject inversion plays a very important role in the
structural aspects of English questions. Independent interrogative clauses of all kinds ―
yes-no questions, wh-questions and alternative questions ― together with tag questions
form a very important group of sentence type under the umbrella term “inversion in
English interrogatives”.
IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEO, PROFESSOR ROBERTO
DE FREITAS JUNIOR REVISES TAG QUESTIONS AND
SUGGESTS SOME PRACTICE EXERCISES.
DEMONSTRATION
Tag questions are pretty common in oral communication and may be used whenever we
want to check or confirm information. They are formed by inverting the polarity of the
first sentence and by adding a question which is formed by an auxiliary verb and the
subject. So, in the sentence: “John is coming”, in order to form a tag question, first we
need to invert the polarity of the sentence. Since the sentence is positive, the tag
question should be negative. The verb to be is being used in the sentence above and that
means that it should also be part of the tag question.
EXAMPLE 1: JOHN IS COMING (ORIGINAL SENTENCE)
John is coming, isn’t he?
Now let’s see another example: “She has a car”. In this case, the main part of the
sentence does not have an auxiliary verb, so the question tag should use a “do” form.
EXAMPLE 2: SHE HAS A CAR. (ORIGINAL SENTENCE)
She has a car, doesn’t she?
In the following example, since the sentence is negative, the operator in the tag question
will be in its positive form.
EXEMPLO 3: THEY HAVEN’T ARRIVED. (ORIGINAL
SENTENCE)
They haven’t arrived, have they?
 TIP
If you pay attention to the polarity of the tag question and to the operator to be used, you
can’t go wrong!
HANDS ON
1. TAG QUESTIONS ARE USED TO CONFIRM OR EVEN CHECK
INFORMATION. WHAT WOULD BE THE CORRECT TAG QUESTION
DERIVED FROM THE SENTENCE: HE WORKS EVERY DAY?
A) isn’t he?
B) doesn’t he?
C) don’t he?
D) has he?
E) do he?
2. TAG QUESTIONS ARE USED TO CONFIRM OR EVEN CHECK
INFORMATION. WHAT WOULD BE THE CORRECT TAG QUESTION
DERIVED FROM THE SENTENCE: SHE’S TRAVELLED BEFORE?
A) hasn’t she?
B) has she?
C) does she?
D) doesn’t she?
E) isn’t she?
3. WHICH TYPES OF QUESTIONS ARE I) “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” AND
II) “ARE YOU EXERCISING?”?
A) Wh-question and yes-no question respectively.
B) Yes-no question and alternative question respectively.
C) They are both alternative questions.
D) They are all wh-questions.
E) Yes-no question and alternative question.
4. QUESTION WORDS, IN WH-QUESTIONS, INDICATE AN ELEMENT TO
BE SPECIFIED BY THE INTERLOCUTOR, WHEREAS THE REST OF THE
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE IS PROBABLY KNOWN. WHICH ELEMENT
SHOULD BE SPECIFIED WHEN WE START THE QUESTION WITH THE
WORD WHEN?
A) The subject.
B) The object.
C) The adverbial.
D) The predicative.
E) None of the above.
5. CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE WHICH CONTAINS A TRUE STATEMENT
ABOUT THE NATURE OF YES-NO QUESTIONS:
A) They are used whenever there is some missing information, such as location or even
time. What’s more, the question is given a falling tone.
B) They are used whenever there is some information we want to check. What’s more,
the question is given a falling tone.
C) The operator is placed before the subject and the question is given a rising tone.
D) They usually provide the speaker with multiple alternatives.
E) They are introduced by question words and have a falling tone.
6. IN YES-NO QUESTIONS STRESS CAN BE PLACED ON DIFFERENT
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE, DEPENDING ON THE INFORMATION WE ARE
UNSURE OF. STRESS CAN THEN FALL ON THE SUBJECT, ON THE
OBJECT OR EVEN ON THE ADVERBIAL. WHAT’S CORRECT TO SAY
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING QUESTION? – IS HE A TEACHER AT THAT
SCHOOL? (THE PHRASE IN BOLD REPRESENTS WHERE THE STRESS
FALLS ON THE SENTENCE)
A) I don’t know whether or not he is a teacher.
B) I don’t know whether the person is a man or a woman.
C) I don’t know whether the person works or not.
D) I don’t know whether my interlocutor knows the person or not.
E) I don’t know whether he works at that school or at a different place.
GABARITO
1. Tag questions are used to confirm or even check information. What would be the
correct tag question derived from the sentence: He works every day?
Option "B" is correct. 
If the original sentence is an affirmative one, the tag question then is negative, since it
refers to a different polarity. In the example above, since no operator is observed, do is
used.
2. Tag questions are used to confirm or even check information. What would be the
correct tag question derived from the sentence: She’s travelled before?
Option "A" is correct. 
In the sentence above the ‘s represents the auxiliary verb have. The sentence then is in
the present perfect: has arrived. In order to form a corresponding tag question, the
auxiliary should be in its negative form (inverted polarity) and be followed by the subject,
in this case, she.
3. Which types of questions are i) “What are you doing?” and ii) “Are you exercising?”?
Option "A" is correct. 
Wh-questions are used when we ask about missing information: subject, object,
location, just to name a few; Yes-no questions are used to inquire about the truth of a
statement and alternative questions are used when the interlocutor is presented with two
options.
4. Question words, in wh-questions,indicate an element to be specified by the
interlocutor, whereas the rest of the interrogative sentence is probably known. Which
element should be specified when we start the question with the word when?
Option "C" is correct. 
Whenever a question is introduced by the question word when, the speaker is inquiring
about the time when certain action took place, takes place or will take place. Therefore,
the only possible answer for this type of question is an adverbial of time. e.g.: A: When is
she coming? B: Tomorrow.
5. Choose the alternative which contains a true statement about the nature of Yes-no
questions:
Option "C" is correct. 
Yes-no questions are questions for which there are only two possible answers: yes or
no. They are formed by placing the operator before the subject and they have a rising
tone. Ex: Is he coming?
6. In yes-no questions stress can be placed on different parts of the sentence, depending
on the information we are unsure of. Stress can then fall on the subject, on the object or
even on the adverbial. What’s correct to say about the following question? – Is he a
teacher at that school? (the phrase in bold represents where the stress falls on the
sentence)
Option "E" is correct. 
The speaker stresses exactly the piece of information he is unsure of. So, in this case,
the speaker is probably familiar with the fact that he is a teacher, the person just doesn’t
know where he works.
GABARITO
THEORY IN PRACTICE
We ask and answer questions all the time in real life. However, there is a specific
situation that most of us dread: job interviews. Let’s analyze the structure of some of the
most common job interview questions!
How did you hear about this position?
Why do you want to work at this company?
Why do you want this job?
Why should we hire you?
What can you bring to the company?
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
What are your greatest strengths?
What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
What is your greatest professional achievement?
Can you explain why you changed career paths?
What’s your current salary?
How would your boss and coworkers describe you?
Are you planning on having children?
How do you prioritize your work?
What are you passionate about?
Do you consider yourself successful?
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
When can you start?
Are you willing to relocate?
Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
Do you have any questions for us?
WORKING IT OUT
In all the twenty questions above we observe the same word order pattern, that is, the
subject is being preceded by the operator. In questions 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
17, 18 and 20 the subject is being represented by the personal pronoun you; in question
4, the personal pronoun we is the subject, and question 11 presents a compound
subject: your boss and coworkers.
Question 8 presents the copular function of the verb to be since it is linking the subject,
in this case, the wh-word, and the noun phrase – your greatest professional
achievement.
In all those questions, however, the subjects are being preceded by the auxiliary verbs:
do, did; by the modal verbs can, should and would and the verb to be.
Questions 9, 12, 15, 18, 19 and 20 exemplify yes-no questions; whereas the remaining
questions are examples of wh-questions.
Now that you are familiarized with the most common job interview questions and their
structure, you are surely more prepared to face the job market! Good luck!
Pay attention to this review! The examples will make it easier!
LEARNING CHECK
1. WE CAN DEFINE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES AS:
A) Clauses that are not part of any larger sentence structure, but that may contain
embedded clauses or be themselves coordinated ones.
B) Clauses that are not used to perform speech-act functions.
C) Clauses that are part of any larger sentence structure, but that may contain embedded
clauses or be themselves coordinated ones.
D) Clauses that may be used to perform speech-act functions.
E) Clauses that are used to ask questions.
2. WH-QUESTIONS ARE USED:
A) When we ask about missing information.
B) To invite the addressee to indicate whether a proposition is true or not.
C) To invite the addressee to select among alternatives presented.
D) When we ask about known information.
E) To make some random elicitation.
GABARITO
1. We can define independent clauses as:
Option "A " is correct.
 
Independent clauses are not part of any larger sentence structure but may contain
embedded clauses or be coordinated ones.
2. Wh-questions are used:
Option "A " is correct.
 
Wh-questions are used when we ask about missing information, information we have no
clue about.
SECTION 3
 To employ inversion strategies in negative structures
FRONTING AND INVERSIONS IN ENGLISH
This section is dedicated to the discussion of two important English structures related to
inversion: the one with opening adverbials in Verb-Subject (VS) clauses and the one with
negative yes-no questions.
Understanding the use of opening adverbials in VS clauses requires a brief review on the
phenomenon of fronting.
FRONTING REFERS TO THE INITIAL PLACEMENT OF
ELEMENTS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY FOUND IN POST-VERBAL
POSITION.
English word order has been described as fixed. It is true that the placement of elements
is strictly regulated in this language and that variations of the canonical SVO word order
are preferred. Yet there are other sorts of rare word order variation in this language due
mainly to fronting and its discourse functions:
Organizing information flow to achieve cohesion.

Expressing contrast.

Enabling particular elements to gain emphasis.
Many cases of inversion in English are closely connected with fronting, especially the
ones outside interrogative clauses. The two main types of inversion in English are
subject-verb inversion and subject-operator inversion, but there is a great deal of variety
in inversion patterns. Once again the main communicative functions of these types of
inversion overlap with those of fronting:
Cohesion
Placement of focus
Intensification
Through skillful use of fronting and inversion we produce special stylistic effects with
information coming in the opening and end clausal positions. Such strategies follow
underlying discourse principles: the information principle and the end-weight principle.
Information principle
This principle foresees that given information comes first in the sentence and that new
information comes after it.
Principle of end-weight
Principle that foresees the tendency that long and complex elements are placed at the
end of the clause.
Ultimately they are complementary principles and regulate information flow in general.
The regular SVO canonical word order tends to follow such principles:
The man found a family of cats shut in the bathroom.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
The noun phrase <The man> is very likely given information in the discourse level and
the predicate found a family of cats shut in the bathroom is very likely new information.
Besides, the verb phrase found a family of cats shut in the bathroom is more complex
and longer than the NP (Noun Phrase ) <The man>.
WORD ORDER GENERAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING
INFORMATION FLOW ARE THEN OBSERVED HERE: NEW,
LONGER AND MORE COMPLEX INFORMATION TAKES PLACE
AFTER GIVEN, SHORTER AND SIMPLER INFORMATION.
Subject-verb inversion represents noncanonical word order in English but still may
happen under the information and end-weight principles. It is found most typically under
the following circumstances:
The clause opens with an adverbial, especially one of time or place. The adverbial often
links the clause to subsequent information which makes it given information.
(THEN CAME THE PRINCESS OF WALES.)
The verb is intransitive or copular and has less weight than the subject.
(HERE IS THE FIRST QUESTION.)
The clause endswith a long and heavy subject introducing new information.
(ALSO PROBLEMATIC IS THE DEGREE TO WHICH GENDER
MAY BE PART OF THE PROCESS.)
OPENING PLACE AND TIME ADVERBIALS
Place and time descriptions with overt or implied anaphoric information are common in
cases of subject-verb inversion clauses. However, other types of adverbials are also
found. They are the triggering elements for inversion.
ANAPHORIC
Referring to a word previously used.
 EXAMPLE
On one long wall hung a row of Van Goghs.
Next to it stood a silver urn bursting with red berries.
On the third table sat Princess Ann.
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Next came the Chaplain.
Here comes the sun.
Now comes the business of sorting out the returned forms.
Among these is heating a solution of formaldehyde.
Subject-operator inversion is also called partial inversion due to the fact that the subject
is preceded by the operator only and not by the main verb or the entire verb phrase. This
kind of inversion will also trigger noncanonical sentences in English and differs from
subject-verb inversion cases in a number of circumstances:
Inversion may occur with both transitive and intransitive verbs often with weighty
predicate occupying end position.
(NOR WAS THERE THE FANCIEST PAINTING HUNG ON THE
WALL.)
The opening elements are much more restrictive.
(LITTLE DID SHE KNOW.)
Inversion is obligatory where the triggering elements occur with light-weight unstressed
subject pronouns.
(NOT UNTIL YESTERDAY DID SHE REALIZE HOW WRONG SHE
WAS.)
NEGATIVE OR RESTRICTIVE OPENING
ELEMENTS
Subject-operator inversion is found after opening negative or restrictive coordinators or
adverbials. This kind of subject-operator inversion occurs in sentences with introductory
negatives or semi-negatives:
NEVER WERE THE FRONT DOORS WIDE OPEN.
In fact, subject-operator inversion happens after opening negative or restrictive
coordinators or adverbials. The following chart contains some words that may trigger
such phenomenon:
neither nor never
nowhere not only rarely
hardly no sooner seldom
only on no condition scarcely
 Attention! Drag to the sides to see the full table.
Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
The following sentences illustrate the subject-operator phenomenon of this kind. The
triggering elements are in bold:
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
On no account should we forget our friends.
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
Rarely is everybody in class.
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
I don’t have a clue how to do it and neither does my partner.
Subject-operator inversion after most initial negative/restrictive elements has an
important connection to writing, but it may also be found in conversation, if the
triggering element is neither, nor or no way:
 EXAMPLE
Oh! No way will I accept that!
No way!
Indeed, other cases of subject-operator inversion are related to the use of the linking
forms so, nor and neither and of the degree adverbials so and such:
 EXAMPLE
So badly was he affected by the storm that he had to buy a new house.
Such is the mess on the plane there is no one calm right now.
Paul is in, and so is Lisa!
She hadn’t known about that, nor had the husband.
The building was not hit by the truck, and neither was the bridge.
The other group of English structures related to inversion covered in this section are
negative yes-no questions. Negative orientation is found in questions which contain a
negative form of one kind or another:
Negative questions Neutral interrogative form
Don’t you believe me? Do you believe me?
Hasn’t he told you what to do? Has he told you what to do?
 Attention! Drag to the sides to see the full table.
Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
English negative questions are conducive. Conducive questions are yes-no questions
which have a built-in bias towards one answer rather than another. There are several
question types with such bias, like Tag Questions and others. This section focuses on
the relation between inversion and conducive questions with a negative word, normally
the negative particle not or the contraction - n’t.
In structural terms English negative interrogatives represent one case of inversion, in
which we have subject-operator inversion with the negative particle attached to the
operator or modal verb, as we see in the following:
 EXAMPLE
Can’t you drive straight?
Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?
Hasn’t the boat left yet?
Didn’t they warn you?
ENGLISH NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVES HAVE A COMPLEX
COMMUNICATIVE EFFECT: THEY CHALLENGE A NEGATIVE
EXPECTATION THAT HAS BEEN ASSUMED TO EXIST IN THE
CONTEXT. THUS THEY INDICATE THE SPEAKER’S
INCLINATION TOWARDS A POSITIVE ANSWER:
SCENE 1
SCENE 2
A: I prefer not to greet her, please!
B: Why? Don’t you know her?
In this first scene, character A’s sentence implies displeasure at greeting the woman for
some particular reason. Character B’s negative question indicates surprise at this
implication. It implies that B would have expected A to know the woman enough for
greeting her, but ultimately that was not the case. Negative questions disown a negative
expectation and embrace a positive one.
C: Don’t I get a kiss for that sweet?
In this second scene the mother has given the kid some sweet and expects a kiss in
return. The child’s behavior doesn’t point towards this direction, though, and the
mother’s negative question challenges this disappointing outcome.
Research shows that negative yes-no interrogatives are much less frequent than their
positive counterparts.
The two inversion structures studied in this section, i.e.: the one with opening adverbials
in Verb-Subject (VS) clauses and the one with negative yes-no questions, show how
discourse pressures play an important role in the development of speech and writing in
English.
THESE STRUCTURES INDIVIDUALLY REPRESENT DIFFERENT
FUNCTIONS IN THE LANGUAGE AND ARE ASSOCIATED TO
SPECIFIC DISCOURSE PRINCIPLES, INDICATING THAT
LANGUAGE USE IS VERY IMPORTANT IN GUIDING
STRUCTURAL CHOICES AND POSSIBILITIES THAT
ULTIMATELY ARE NOT INDEPENDENT FROM SUCH
PRESSURES.
DEMONSTRATION
Adverbials are usually not placed in the beginning of sentences; when some are,
however, a different word order pattern is begged. Let’s see the use of the frequency
adverb seldom in two different sentences to exemplify this phenomenon!
The word seldom is usually placed in the middle of sentences such as in: I seldom go to
the movies. The word comes immediately after the subject and right before the verb. If,
for some reason, I want to emphasize that going to the movies is not my favorite
pastime, the time adverbial is placed in the beginning of the sentence. The word seldom
is then fronted.
i) I seldom go to the movies.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
ii) Seldom do I go to the movies.
Notice that in sentence ii) the auxiliary verb is used, whereas in i) there is no need for
such use. There is a simple reason for that! In ii) the fronting of the adverbial begs for a
subject-operator inversion, in this case, do.
The same applies for the word rarely.
i) I rarely went out when I was a teenager.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
ii) Rarely did I go out when I was a teenager.
Since the sentences refer to the past tense “when I was a teenager”, the auxiliary did is
used instead.
HANDS ON
1. THE SENTENCE: WE RARELY HAVE FREE TIME CAN BE CHANGED BY
PLACING THE ADVERBIAL IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SENTENCE.
CHOOSE THE OPTION WHICH SHOWS THE CORRECT USE OF SUCH
FRONTING:
A) Rarely have we free time.
B) Rarely we have free time.
C) Rarely free time we have.
D) Rarely do we have free time.
E) Rarely did we have free time.
2. CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE THAT CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE OF A
CONDUCIVE QUESTION, THAT IS, A QUESTION THAT CONTAINS BUILT-IN
BIAS TOWARDS AN ANSWER:
A) Do you love her?
B) What is it that you do?
C) Which do you prefer: tea or coffee?
D) Isn’t she lovely?
E) What’s your favorite pastime?
3. SUBJECT-OPERATOR INVERSION IS FOUND AFTER OPENING
NEGATIVE OR RESTRICTIVECOORDINATORS OR ADVERBIALS.
BEARING THIS MIND, CHOOSE THE OPTION THAT CORRECTLY SHOWS
HOW THE SENTENCE I HAVE NEVER EATEN SUCH DELICIOUS FOOD
BEFORE, COULD BE CHANGED TO ACCOMMODATE SUCH FRONTING:
A) Never I have eaten such delicious food before.
B) Never before I have eaten such delicious food.
C) Never before have I eaten such delicious food.
D) Delicious food I have never eaten before.
E) Such food delicious I have never eaten before.
4. REORGANIZE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE: I DIDN’T FIND OUT WHO
THE MURDERER WAS UNTIL THE END OF THE BOOK, SO THAT THE
RESTRICTIVE EXPRESSION “NOT UNTIL” IS FRONTED:
A) I didn’t until the end of the book find out who the murderer was.
B) Not until the end of the book did I find out who the murderer was.
C) Not until the end of the book found I out who the murderer was.
D) I didn’t find out who the murderer was until the end of the book.
E) Not until the end of the book I found out who the murderer was.
5. CHANGE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE TO AVOID REPETITION. ALSO,
MAKE SURE THE SENTENCE RETAINS ITS INITIAL MEANING. 
 
I LIKE CHOCOLATE AND ANNA LIKES CHOCOLATE TOO.
A) I like chocolate and so does Anna.
B) I like chocolate and Anna likes it too.
C) Anna loves chocolate and I like it too.
D) We both like chocolate.
E) We both love chocolate.
6. LITTLE IS ONE OF THOSE TRIGGERING WORDS THAT DEMAND A
REORDERING OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE. BEARING THIS IN MIND,
REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE, SO THAT IT RETAINS THE SAME
INITIAL MEANING: 
 
I HAD NO IDEA THEY WERE PLANNING A PARTY.
A) Little I knew they were planning a party.
B) Little we knew they were planning a party.
C) Little did they know they were planning a party.
D) Little had I known they were planning a party.
E) Little did I know they were planning a party.
GABARITO
1. The sentence: We rarely have free time can be changed by placing the adverbial in the
beginning of the sentence. Choose the option which shows the correct use of such
fronting:
Option "D" is correct. 
The use of rarely in the beginning of the sentence begs for a subject-operator inversion.
Since the sentence is in the present tense, the auxiliary verb “do” needs to be added.
2. Choose the alternative that contains an example of a conducive question, that is, a
question that contains built-in bias towards an answer:
Option "D" is correct. 
English negative questions are conducive since they have a complex communicative
effect: they challenge a negative expectation that has been assumed to exist in the
context, and thus indicate the speaker´s inclination towards a positive answer. When we
ask: isn’t she lovely?, we expect our interlocutor to respond positively.
3. Subject-operator inversion is found after opening negative or restrictive coordinators
or adverbials. Bearing this mind, choose the option that correctly shows how the
sentence I have never eaten such delicious food before, could be changed to
accommodate such fronting:
Option "C" is correct. 
“Never before” is a restrictive adverbial, in this case, a negative one, that calls for a
subject-operator inversion. The operator in question, since the sentence is in the present
perfect, is the auxiliary “have” that should precede the subject.
4. Reorganize the following sentence: I didn’t find out who the murderer was until the
end of the book, so that the restrictive expression “not until” is fronted:
Option "B" is correct. 
Fronting is used whenever we want to emphasize certain part of the sentence. Therefore,
in this sentence, “not until” is given prominence. However, starting the sentence with a
restrictive adverbial “not until” means that subject-operator inversion is needed.
5. Change the following sentence to avoid repetition. Also, make sure the sentence
retains its initial meaning. 
 
I like chocolate and Anna likes chocolate too.
Option "A" is correct. 
The only option in which the meaning is not partially compromised is letter a. However,
to make sure repetition is avoided the word so was used. So, such and neither are
linking words that beg for subject-operator inversion and that’s why the auxiliary verb
does precedes the subject she.
6. Little is one of those triggering words that demand a reordering of words in a
sentence. Bearing this in mind, rewrite the following sentence, so that it retains the same
initial meaning: 
 
I had no idea they were planning a party.
Option "E" is correct. 
Restrictive coordinators or adverbials demand a subject-operator inversion whenever
they are found in initial positions in sentences. In this case, since the sentence is in the
past tense, the auxiliary verb did needs to come before the subject I.
GABARITO
THEORY IN PRACTICE
1. Even though inversions in English are most common in more formal situations, they
can happen whenever we want to add emphasis to a part of a sentence. Therefore, it is
not uncommon to find inversion examples even in pop songs! Below you will find an
excerpt from the lyrics Into the Groove by Madonna. Can you identify the inversion? And
why is it being used?
[…] Music can be such a revelation
Dancing around you feel the sweet sensation
We might be lovers if the rhythm's right
I hope this feeling never ends tonight
Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free
At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see
I'm tired of dancing here all by myself
Tonight I wanna dance with someone else
WORKING IT OUT
Inversion occurs after the expression “only when”. Pay attention to when she sings
“Only when I’m dancing can I feel this free”.
Due to the expression’s restrictive meaning, subject-operator inversion is necessary. As
we can see, the modal verb can comes before the subject I, in can I feel this free. This
ordering then resembles what happens in interrogative sentences, since it refers to the
same phenomenon: inversion. But the effect here is another. By means of placing the
expression “only when” at the beginning of the sentence, the songwriter emphasizes the
fact that only in this situation he or she feels free.
Inversion plays the role of giving emphasis to the qualities of dancing!
2. Let’s analyze another pop song! This time around by the duo Alex & Sierra. The name
of the song is Little do you know:
Little do you know
How I'm breakin' while you fall asleep
Little do you know
I'm still haunted by the memories
Little do you know
I'm tryin' to pick myself up piece by piece
Little do you know
I need a little more time
Underneath it all I'm held captive by the hole inside
I've been holding back for the fear that you might change your mind
I'm ready to forgive you, but forgettin' is a harder fight
Little do you know
I need a little more time
WORKING IT OUT
This is an interesting example since inversion is perceptible in its title (Little do you
know) and it is repeated many times throughout the song. Since little has a restrictive
meaning and it comes at the beginning of the sentence, subject-operator inversion
occurs.
This fronting and subsequent inversion’s effect is to emphasize the fact that my partner
knows absolutely nothing about what is happening to me.
As you can see inversion examples can be found everywhere!
How about inversions in negative structures? This review has some exercises for you to
practice. Click to learn more!
LEARNING CHECK
1. REGARDING THE CONCEPT OF FRONTING, IT IS POSSIBLE TO
AFFIRM THAT:
A) It refers to the initial placement of elements that are frequently found in post-verbal
position.
B) It refers to the final placement of elements that are frequently found in post-verbal
position.
C) It refers to the initial placement of elements that are frequently found in pre-verbal
position.
D) It refers to the final placement of elements that are frequently found in pre-verbal
position.
E) It refers to the placement of elements at any clausal position.
2. SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION MAY HAPPEN UNDER THE INFORMATION
AND END-WEIGHT PRINCIPLES. IT IS FOUND MOST TYPICALLY UNDER
THE FOLLOWINGCIRCUMSTANCES, EXCEPT WHEN:
A) The clause ends with a subject that presents previously known information.
B) The adverbial links the clause to preceding given information.
C) The clause opens with an adverbial, especially one of time or place.
D) The verb is intransitive or copular and has less weight than the subject.
E) The clause ends with a long and heavy subject introducing new information.
GABARITO
1. Regarding the concept of fronting, it is possible to affirm that:
Option "A " is correct.
 
Adverbials, then, which are usually found after the subject or even after verbs can be
placed in the beginning instead.
2. Subject-verb inversion may happen under the information and end-weight principles. It
is found most typically under the following circumstances, except when:
Option "A " is correct.
 
When the subject is given information, it tends to come before the verb, meaning that no
inversion occurs.
SECTION 4
 To identify special cases of inversion: intensifiers, conditional structures, and others
FORMULAIC CLAUSES WITH SUBJUNCTIVE
FORMS, 
AND CLAUSES WITH AN OPENING MAY
Some cases of English inversions are restricted and usually confined to more or less
fixed collocations and represent past uses of the language that remain until nowadays.
Summing up, the two cases we refer to are those in which we have:
Formulaic clauses with subjunctive forms.
Clauses with opening auxiliary may.
The first group of sentences, formulaic clauses with subjunctive verb forms, is formed
by the combination of the inflectionless subjunctive and inversion, as we see in the
following sentences:
 EXAMPLE
If you want to throw your life away, so be it, it is your life!
Long live the Queen!
Be it proclaimed in all the schools; Plato was right.
The second group of sentences, clauses with opening auxiliary may, is used in a similar
way to express a strong wish. In comparison to the first group, this pattern seems to be
more frequent and productive in the language:
 EXAMPLE
May it be pointed out that the teacher is wrong.
May God forgive us!
May the force be with you!
Long may she reign!
IT IS IMPORTANT TO OBSERVE THAT THE TWO GROUPS OF
SENTENCES ABOVE ARE REMNANTS OF EARLIER USES, AS
WE SAID, AND CARRY ARCHAIC LITERARY OVERTONES. THIS
MEANS THAT THEY ARE NOT HIGHLY REPRESENTATIVE OF
HOW CURRENT ENGLISH BEHAVES IN TERMS OF
CANONICAL WORD ORDER, THAT IS THE SV(C/A) ONE.
Another very important inversion pattern in English refers to the imperative clause.
Formally, imperative clauses may be characterized by the use of the verb, or operator,
followed by the subject, which may be present or not in the sentence. Imperatives are
typically used in contexts where the addressee is apparent, which makes it possible to
omit the subject. In any case, inversion is kept as a formal possible aspect in English
imperatives:
 EXAMPLE
Get [you] off the table!
Don’t [you] forget about the deposit!
Hold [you] on for a while!
Inversions involving an operator on its own are also found in formal writing in
comparative clauses introduced by as and than, provided that the subject is heavier than
the verb, and in other as-clauses in general, as we can see in the following examples:
 EXAMPLE
We are in a better position to make an offer than are those people.
Liquid products are sold the same way as are solid ones.
The girl was fascinated, as were the other guests.
This medicine can work, as can that other one.
Another special group of sentences with the possibility of inversion in English are
conditional clauses and dependent interrogative clauses. Let’s take a look at them!
HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSES
In formal writing we find conditional clauses marked by inversion in clauses introduced
by had, should, and subjunctive were. These are sentences in which the most common
option with if is not used:
 EXAMPLE
I would be more helpful, were it not for your attitude.
Were it running slower, we would not get there.
He would have had a great time, had he taken that trip.
Should these situations occur, wrong decisions may be taken
ALTERNATIVE AND UNIVERSAL
CONDITIONAL CLAUSES 
WITH SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS
Dependent alternative clauses can be under inversion patterns too. These patterns of
inversion are also remnants of constructions which a long time ago were more common
and whose uses nowadays are highly restricted and also carry a literary overtone:
THESE PEOPLE REACT WELL, BE IT AT A NATURAL
DISASTER OR AT AN ACCIDENT.
HIS PASSION IS FOR THE ONES HE WRITES ABOUT, BE THEY
GOOD OR BAD PEOPLE.
IT ALWAYS BRINGS A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY, BE YOU A
FATHER OR A PARTNER.
 SUM UP
The main structural differences regarding word order in conditional sentences is that in
the case of Hypothetical Conditional Clauses inversion is related to the omission of the if
conjunction: in keeping the IF structure, the SV word order is required. In the case of
Alternative and universal conditional clauses with subjunctive verbs, canonical word
order is related to the use of infinitive verb forms (see multiple forms of verb be).
I would be more helpful, were it not for your attitude.
I would be more helpful, if it were not for your attitude.
It always brings a lot of responsibility, be you a father or a partner.
It always brings a lot of responsibility, if you are a father or a partner.
DEPENDENT INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES
WITH INVERSION
Dependent interrogative clauses are normally introduced by wh-words, and regularly
have ordinary subject-verb order. An informal alternative is found in colloquial English
and represents a compromise between direct and indirect speech (free indirect
discourse). They preserve the subject-operator inversion structure, but verbs are
backshifted to reporting situations:
BACKSHIFTED
Changed to a different verb tense.
 EXAMPLE
javascript:void(0)
One lady thought we were turfing, and she said could we turf her lawn.
And she said would we like these shirts.
He asked was it true that the man had won the lottery.
INVERSION IN REPORTING CLAUSES
Reporting clauses are appended to direct reports of someone’s speech or thought and
are on the borderline of independent and dependent clauses with some kind of reporting
verbs. One very important characteristic of reporting clauses is that they frequently have
inversions, showing VS word order, despite the most frequent SV order:
 EXAMPLE
That’s the problem, said the man.
It’s the fuel, said the driver.
It’s a good thing you are here, began Mabel.
I’d be happy to be there, continued the boy.
Thirty-five students, thought the teacher.
INVERSION AND INTENSIFIERS
Other cases of inversion are related to the use of intensifiers, as in certain degree
expressions with so and such and many others:
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
So badly was he affected by the storm that he had to buy a new house.
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com
Such is the mess on the plane there is no one calm right now.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
So exhausted was she that she went straight to bed.
 
Photo: Stock.adobe.com.
Such was the extent of the damage that the car was a total write-off.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Rarely was she at home.
 
Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Striking were the proportions of the accident.
In all these cases there is a relative use of focus strategies to make one or other
information more prominent.
VARIATIONS IN CLAUSE PATTERNS
The last part of this section is dedicated not only to inversion but also to other clause
patterns that are somehow related to inversion since they all represent variations of the
basic SV clause pattern.
Thus, inversion and fronting, for starters, are revisited here since they are responsible
for an array of word order variations in English related to structural, semantic, pragmatic
and textual factors. These phenomena are somewhat deeply related but may be
described separately due to their particular characteristics.
 SUM UP
Basically, inversion has to dowith word order variation in which we can perceive
inversion of the subject (the first part) of the verb phrase. We studied many cases of
inversion all over this Unit. Fronting, as we also briefly saw, has to do with the fronting of
objects and other elements which are normally in post-verbal position.
Our point in this section is to highlight the fact that fronting in independent declarative
clauses is often combined with subject-verb inversion due to textual factors which also
gives rise to verb-subject word order, as we see in the case of the fronted predicative
bellow:
 EXAMPLE
Far more serious were the severe head injuries of the brain.
Also popular for travelling are the jackets.
Another word order variation case regards postponement which involves the
replacement of the postponed element by a substitute form, which is also called
extraposition.
Extraposition operates almost exclusively in subordinate nominal clauses, and the
subject realized by a finite/nonfinite clause is the most important one. In sum, the subject
is moved to the end of the sentence, and the normal subject position is occupied by the
so-called anticipatory pronoun it. The resulting sentence thus contains two subjects: the
postponed subject (the notional subject of the sentence) and the anticipatory subject it.
Once again there is a verb-subject sentence, in this case headed by the pronoun it,
which actually makes it an ITSUBJECT VS clause that is somehow a case of inversion:
To see her do that annoyed us.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
It annoyed us to see her do that!
The anticipatory it may be also called dummy subject due to its nonreferential character
and lexical emptying and the general constructional pattern underlying these sentences
may be represented by:
ITSUBJECT VERB PHRASE NOTIONALSUBJECT
This pattern is in fact far more usual than that of the first sentence above (“To see her do
that annoyed us”).
Being a clausal subject potentially makes the subject a large group of clausal types,
including the passive voice:
Type SVC (Subject Verb Complement) It is a pleasure to teach her.
Type SVA (Subject Verb Adverbial)
It was on the news that taxes are to
be lowered.
Type SV (Subject Verb) It doesn’t matter what you do.
Type SVO (Subject Verb Object) It surprised me to hear him say
that.
Type SVOC (Subject Verb Object
Complement)
It makes her happy to see others
having fun.
Type SVPASS (Subject Verb (passive
voice))
It is said that she wanted to go into
politics.
Type SVPASS C (Subject Verb (passive
voice) Complement)
It was considered impossible for
anyone to escape.
 Attention! Drag to the sides to see the full table.
Created by: Roberto de Freitas Junior.
Another type of structural change regarding canonical SV word order is dislocation, that
is sometimes connected to inversion with the use of the dummy subject it regarding
clefting. A clause can be clefted, i.e. divided into two parts, each with its own verb. In
English there are two main types of cleft sentences.
Wh-cleft
Headed by a wh-pronoun, as in:
What I want is a country of opportunities.
It-cleft
Headed by the dummy subject It, as in:
It was a tip refill that I was trying to get.
Both types of clefts are used to bring particular elements of structure into focus,
although they are by no means equivalent. In the case of it-Cleft, with the subject
pronoun it as a lexically empty theme, the cleft readily achieves focus on the final item;
in effect, end-focus within SVC clause.
FINALLY, IT IS WORTH MENTIONING ANOTHER ENGLISH
STRUCTURE THAT IS RELATED TO INVERSION: EXISTENTIAL
THERE.
Existential there is a formal device used, together with an intransitive verb, to predicate
the existence or occurrence of something. It keeps the English canonical word order
(SV), but in fact presents a postverbal noun phrase, which is typical of Verb-Subject
word-order. Since there (originally a locative) is semantically empty, it turns out to be a
mere grammatical subject and the postponed indefinite notional NP (Noun Phrase) is
thus interpreted as the semantic subject. The most typical clause with existential there
has the following structure:
THERESUBJ VERB INDEFINITE NP [ADVERBIAL]
There is a bear sitting on the corner.
There are around 6000 accidents in kitchens every year.
There came a roar of pure delight.
There seems to be little reason to interfere.
There exists a set of obligations.
It is worth noticing that in these sentences it is the term there and not the dummy subject
it that plays the role of grammatical subject.
Understanding all such cases of noncanonical word order possibilities in English may be
very useful for EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners.
 EXAMPLE
Brazilians may struggle in using some of the structures mentioned all over this text. Due
to L1 (First language ) interference they may create ungrammatical sentences in
English blending textual and structural features of verb-subject sentences in Brazilian
Portuguese with those in English.
Freitas (2011) presents the results of a doctoral research regarding a large number of
ungrammatical sentences produced by Brazilians concerning different types of inversion
in the active and passive voices.
These sentences are frequently produced by Brazilian speakers of L2 (Second language
) English but they are not found in everyday native English and thus may sound odd
constructions when communicating in this language:
*It is beautiful the view.
*Is beautiful the view.
*It was seen the view.
*Was seen the view.
*It happened an accident.
*Happened an accident.
What these sentences reveal is that Brazilians face difficulties in understanding when
and how to use the dummy subject it and in controlling semantic/pragmatic constraints
regarding Verb-Subject structures in L2 English. We recommend the reading of the
research.
*
Represents low acceptability/grammaticality.
DEMONSTRATION
Conditional clauses are quite common in English and are usually introduced by the word
if as we can see in the example below:
If you have any questions, talk to your supervisor.
However, in more formal situations, such as a work-related e-mail, the word if can be
omitted and the modal verb should can be used instead. In this case, a different word
order pattern is used, since should precedes the subject. The sentence then becomes:
Should you have any questions, talk to you supervisor.
Notice that should here is not a synonym for ought to, as no advice is being given; it has,
on the other hand, a conditional meaning.
javascript:void(0)
javascript:void(0)
javascript:void(0)
javascript:void(0)
javascript:void(0)
javascript:void(0)
There are other examples in which if is also omitted. In a sentence such as If I had known
about your situation, I would have called you, a hypothetical past situation is being
brought up: if I had known. I didn’t know, but I can imagine how differently I would have
reacted if I had known. What happens if for some reason I decide to omit the word if?
Let’s see!
OMITTING THE WORD IF
If I had known about your situation, I would have called you.
 
Image: Shutterstock.com. 
Had I known about your situation, I would have called you.
By resorting to a subject-operator inversion, conditional meaning is retained, and the
sentence as a whole becomes more formal.
Next time you write your boss an e-mail showcase your linguistic abilities by adding
some inversions!
HANDS ON
1. CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE WHICH CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE OF AN
ARCHAIC USE OF THE LANGUAGE THAT REMAINS RELEVANT UNTIL
TODAY AND MAY BE USED TO EXPRESS STRONG WISH:
javascript:void(0)
A) May you recover soon.
B) Would you recover soon.
C) Must you recover soon.
D) Might you recover soon.
E) You’d better recover soon.
2. CHOOSE THE OPTION THAT CONTAINS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE
SENTENCE IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW:
A) Have you any further questions, let me know.
B) Do you have any further questions,let me know.
C) Can you have any further questions, let me know.
D) Should you have any further questions, let me know.
E) Let me know, do you have any further questions.
3. CONDITIONAL HYPOTHETICAL CLAUSES MAY EXHIBIT A DIFFERENT
WORD ORDER PATTERN IN MORE FORMAL SITUATIONS. CHOOSE THE
OPTION WHICH CONTAINS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE SENTENCE: IF HE
HAD BEEN MORE ATTENTIVE, HE WOULDN’T HAVE MADE SO MANY
MISTAKES:
A) He wouldn’t have made so many mistakes, he had been more attentive.
B) More attentive, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.
C) He wouldn’t have made so many mistakes, had he been more attentive.
D) Been more attentive, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.
E) May be more attentive, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.
4. INTENSIFIERS AS SO AND SUCH MAY BE PLACED IN THE BEGINNING
OF SENTENCES SO AS TO ADD EMPHASIS TO THE MESSAGE BEING
CONVEYED. THE SENTENCE HE WAS SO EXCITED THAT HE COULD
BARELY SLEEP MAY ALSO TAKE THE FOLLOWING FORM:
A) Barely could he sleep as excited as he was.
B) So excited he was that he could barely sleep.
C) So excited was he that he could barely sleep.
D) So he was excited he could barely sleep
E) So barely sleep he could he was so excited.
5. THE SENTENCE THE SITUATION WAS SUCH THAT ANYTHING COULD
START A MASSIVE RIOT MAY TAKE THE FOLLOWING FORM:
A) Such massive situation could start a riot.
B) Such massive riot could start a situation.
C) Such situation could start a massive riot.
D) Such was the situation that anything could start a massive riot.
E) Such massive was the situation that anything could start a riot.
6. INVERSION ALSO OCCURS WHEN A SECOND CLAUSE BEGINS WITH
AS TO SAY THAT THE SAME APPLIES TO THE SECOND PERSON OR
THING MENTIONED. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD STRATEGY TO AVOID
REPETITIONS. THE SENTENCE FRANCE PRODUCES GOOD WINE AND
SOUTH AFRICA PRODUCES GOOD WINE TOO MAY TAKE THE
FOLLOWING FORM:
A) France produces good wine as does South Africa.
B) France produces good wine and as produces South Africa.
C) France produces good wine and as South Africa.
D) As good wine produces South Africa.
E) As France so South Africa does produce good wine.
GABARITO
1. Choose the alternative which contains an example of an archaic use of the language
that remains relevant until today and may be used to express strong wish:
Option "A" is correct. 
Clauses opening with the modal verb may are remnants of earlier uses of the language
and are used to express strong wish. So, in the sentence May you recover soon the
speaker is conveying strong wishes of recovery.
2. Choose the option that contains an alternative to the sentence If you have any further
questions, let me know:
Option "D" is correct. 
In formal writing, the word if can be omitted in conditional clauses and should can be
used as a substitute. The conditional meaning is retained, even though a modal verb is
being used instead.
3. Conditional hypothetical clauses may exhibit a different word order pattern in more
formal situations. Choose the option which contains an alternative to the sentence: If he
had been more attentive, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes:
Option "C" is correct. 
In conditional hypothetical clauses, if may be omitted while the clause still retains its
conditional meaning. When this happens, though, the clause is either introduced by had,
should, or subjunctive were.
4. Intensifiers as so and such may be placed in the beginning of sentences so as to add
emphasis to the message being conveyed. The sentence He was so excited that he could
barely sleep may also take the following form:
Option "C" is correct. 
Whenever intensifiers come at the beginning of sentences, inversions occur. In this case
the verb to be should precede the subject and that’s why option “C” is correct.
5. The sentence The situation was such that anything could start a massive riot may take
the following form:
Option "D" is correct. 
Letter “D” is the only option in which the meaning is not compromised. The use of the
intensifier at the beginning of the sentence, however, triggers inversion and the verb to
be precedes the subject.
6. Inversion also occurs when a second clause begins with as to say that the same
applies to the second person or thing mentioned. This is also a good strategy to avoid
repetitions. The sentence France produces good wine and South Africa produces good
wine too may take the following form:
Option "A" is correct. 
When the second clause is introduced by as, there is a subject-verb inversion. Just
remember that the auxiliary verb should precede the subject in this case.
GABARITO
THEORY IN PRACTICE
Throughout this Unit we have discussed how inversions may be found in songs, TV
series, job interviews. Let’s analyze now two extracts from online articles discussing
how the COVID pandemic has affected our lives worldwide.
While the first article discusses approaches to vaccines, the second one discusses
measures for New Year’s Eve adopted in Canada and their repercussions. Even though
both revolve around the same topic, their approaches vary; both, however, make use of
inversions. Can you identify the inversions? Why are the inversions necessary?
1.
SINCE 2016, SUCH A DOSE-REDUCTION STRATEGY
HAS SUCCESSFULLY VACCINATED MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE IN AFRICA AND SOUTH AMERICA AGAINST
YELLOW FEVER. BUT NO SIMILAR APPROACH HAS
BEEN TRIED IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19, DESPITE
VACCINE SHORTAGES IN MUCH OF THE GLOBAL
SOUTH. 
‘THERE’S A HUGE STATUS QUO BIAS, AND IT’S
KILLING PEOPLE,’ SAYS ALEX TABARROK, AN
ECONOMIST AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY IN
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA. ‘HAD WE DONE THIS STARTING IN
JANUARY, WE COULD HAVE VACCINATED TENS,
PERHAPS HUNDREDS, OF MILLIONS MORE PEOPLE'.
(DOLGIN, 2021)
2.
BOTH TOSTENSON AND AULD SAY THEY
UNDERSTAND THE DOCTOR’S REASONING, BUT SAY
THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE NOTICE. 
'THE PROBLEM HERE HAS REALLY BEEN THE LACK
OF NOTICE AND THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT’S
BEEN SPENT GETTING READY FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE
AND THEN HAVING TO PULL IT BACK,' TOSTENSON
SAID. 'HAD WE DONE THIS WITH DR. HENRY THREE
WEEKS AGO WE COULD HAVE DELIVERED A PLAN
THAT WAS SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND ALLOWED PEOPLE
TO GO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUN WITH THEIR
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS.' 
DR. HENRY RESPONDED TO CRITICISM OF THE
TIMING DURING THURSDAY'S BRIEFING. 
'WE'VE BEEN OBVIOUSLY SIGNALLING FOR SOME
TIME ABOUT THE ISSUES AROUND NEW YEAR’S EVE
AND AROUND THE HOLIDAY SEASON SO I DON’T
THINK THIS CAME OUT OF THE BLUE IN THAT
RESPECT', SHE TOLD REPORTERS.
(THIBAULT, 2020)
WORKING IT OUT
Extracts 1 and 2 tackle the same type of inversion: hypothetical conditional clauses.
In the first one, the sentence introduced by Alex Tabarrok, omits the word if, by still
retaining its conditional meaning. This is only possible since an inversion is being
employed “Had we done this”, he says. (Instead of If we had done this.)
The second extract also employs the same structure. Tostenson says: “Had we done
this”, meaning If we had done this. Notice that even though the sentences are found in
online articles they refer to examples of spoken language, as their opinions are being
directly reproduced.
Inversions are thus found everywhere and anywhere!
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
Have you ever heard these expressions? They are examples of other uses of inversion.
Click to check some special cases of inversion.
LEARNING CHECK
1. THE ANTICIPATORY IT MAY BE ALSO CALLED DUMMY SUBJECT DUE
TO ITS
A) Deictic role.
B) Lexical reference.
C) Anaphoric function.
D) Referential character.
E) Nonreferential character.
2. WHICH FORMAL DEVICE IS USED IN ALL THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCES? 
 
I. THERE IS A BOY STANDING ON THE CORNER. 
II. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HERE. 
III. THERE SEEMS TO BE A REASON FOR THAT. 
IV. THERE CAME THE PRINCE.
A) Dummy subject.
B) Emphatic do.
C) Emphatic to.
D) Anticipatory it.
E) Existential there.
GABARITO
1. The anticipatory it may be also called dummy subject due to its
Option "E " is correct.
 
The anticipatoryit has no anaphoric, referential role.
2. Which formal device is used in all the following sentences? 
 
i. There is a boy standing on the corner. 
ii. There are hundreds of people here. 
iii. There seems to be a reason for that. 
iv. There came the Prince.
Option "E " is correct.
 
They are all headed by the there subject.
CONCLUSION
FINAL ISSUES
The English canonical word order mostly follows the subject-verb (SV) pattern. Despite
its tendency to present the more rigid SV word order, this language also presents the
possibility of clauses that follow the verb-subject (VS) word order; which are related to
discursive pressures of language usage or to more flexible word order possibilities that
relate to the history of the language.
Inversion in English is strongly related to the interrogative clause pattern, but not only.
We find it in several contexts in the language which makes it a very important subject to
study.
Understanding how these clauses behave structurally and how they are related to
different forms of meaning production is fundamental for those who want to master this
language.
An important point highlighted in our Unit concerns the fact that Brazilian learners of L2
English may find it difficult to deal with inversion sometimes. Meaning and structural
differences in the use of inversion in Portuguese and English may bring difficulties for
the L2 learner. Once again, it is justified to dive into the content of this Unit, which
sought to provide the student with an effective overview of the discussion.
UNIT RATING:
REFERENCES
BIBER, D. et al. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson,
Logman. 2002.
FREITAS JUNIOR, Roberto de. A constituição discursivo-gramatical da construção (X)VS
em inglês como L2: indícios de formação da interlíngua. Tese (Doutorado em
Linguística). Faculdade de Letras, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, p. 252, 2011.
QUIRK R. & GREENBAUM S. A Student's Grammar of the English Language. London:
Longman, 1990.
THIBAUT, Alissa. Bar and restaurant owners say B.C.'s New Year's Eve booze rule is
'incredibly frustrating'. In: Vancouver News. Published Thursday, December 31, 2020.
DOLGIN, Elie. Quarter-dose of Moderna COVID vaccine still rouses a big immune
response. In Nature. Published July 9, 2021.
GO FURTHER
If you are still unsure about when to use inversions and you feel you need more practice,
check BBC’s website.
Do you still need more practice? Check the ESL Lounge website for more inversion
exercises.
What's more, the Cambridge Dictionary online also offers some useful grammar tips.
Check it out.
CONTENT AUTHOR
Roberto de Freitas Junior
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