Normally in English the verb comes after the subject.
For example: Toby teaches. Bruce drinks. Monica talks...
and talks... and talks... However this is not always the case.
Sometimes the verb can come before the subject and
this is called "inversion".
Sounds difficult? Well no, it's not, if you know what to do. My name is Toby,
this is SMASH English, and here is how to use inversion
to pass the B2 First Cambridge exam.
You already use inversion all the time. Actually you probably use inversion
every time you speak english. Let's look at these
sentences again. Toby teaches. Bruce drinks.
Monica talks. They are in the present simple.
What are the interrogative forms? Does Toby teach?
Does Bruce drink? Does Monica talk? Now look. Here we have the auxiliary verb
before the subject. And that's inversion. Very easy, but it gets
more complicated. Let's look at some other uses of
inversion in English. We use "so", "neither" and
"nor" as additions at the end of statements.
They express agreement but they require an inversion. For example:
"my cat eats insects and i do too" instead of saying "too"
here, we can use "so do I". "My cat eats insects and so do I". This is in the
present simple so we use "so" + the auxiliary verb
"do" with "I". Wow! Monica! you're so beautiful! I! really love you! Don't compliment her!
What are you doing!? Oh my God! So do I! I really love myself
actually, because if you can't love yourself then i don't
think you can love anyone else! "Neither" and "nor" are the same but they
are for negative agreement: for something that you don't do,
something you didn't do, something that you hadn't done...
you get the idea. "I have never liked skiing"
"nor have I". "I have never been bungee jumping."
"nor have I". "I hadn't done my homework" "nor had i". Oh how exciting!
Monica! Monica! I don't like Bruce! And nor do I! Oh my God! Isn't that great!
Uuuuh, what what are you trying to say!? I was just joking Bruce! I really
like you! Don't hurt me! Um i wasn't joking! "Neither" is
exactly the same as "nor", we just use it instead of "nor". Um, here are some
more examples for you. Oh, hello! So when could you use this
inversion structure in the exam? Well in the speaking exam for starters.
When you have something in common with your partner
say "so do I", "so am I", "so have I". If you agree that you don't do
something say "nor do I" or "neither do I", "neither am I", "neither have I". It's very
easy to do so there's no excuses for not doing it.
Another part of the exam where this could possibly
come up is part two of the use of english section:
the open cloze part. An example question could be
"I had a great time and so ___ tom" here the answer would be "did". Or "I didn't
like the meal and ___ did Jerry". Well here the answer would be
"neither" or "nor". ow this is where it gets a little bit more difficult
so listen closely.
Yeah... we can also use inversion with negative adverbials.
The simplest of these are the negative adverbials of
frequency: "rarely", "hardly ever", "barely ever", "seldom", "never". Um Bruce give me a sentence
sentence with the word "rarely" please. I am rarely sober!
Okay then, so the first thing we do is put
"rarely", the negative adverbial, at the beginning
of the sentence. Now we need to add the interrogative form.
The statement is "I am sober", the interrogative form:
"am I sober". This gives us the inversion "rarely am i sober". Honestly it's easy but
the examiners love it, so do it! Yes! Can i give an example?
I have never seen a girl as beautiful as Monica
before! The negative adverbial here is "never" so that must go at the
beginning of our sentence. Next we need to add an
interrogative form. The statement "I have never seen a girl
as beautiful as Monica before" is the present perfect.
This means we need the auxiliary verb "have" plus the subject.
So then "never have i seen a girl as beautiful as Monica
before" Yeah... Or you could say "Never before have i seen a girl as
beautiful as Monica". Both of these are fine. Here are some
more examples...
I'll just stand here whilst you look at them...
Sorry, I'm being annoying...
Oh! You're back again! So where could you use these negative adverbials of
frequency with inversion in the exam? Well how
about the speaking? But make sure your intonation is correct.
We use this structure to emphasize something.
So be emphatic when you are giving your answers!
"Do you play sport?" "Rarely do I play sport. I love playing sports but I don't have
the time. "Do you often go to restaurants?"
Seldom do I go to restaurants these days. I just don't have the money. This
structure could also appear in part two of the use of english exam:
the open close section. An example question
could be: "rarely ___ people these days visit libraries". The answer here
is "do" of course. You could also find this in part four: the word transformation
part of the use of english paper. Oh the worst part!
An example could be "people are never interested
in what i have to say". Here the answer would be "Never are people
interested in what i have to say" You can use this inversion structure in
any part of the writing exam. Maybe not in an informal email
to a friend but other than that use this as much as you want. In fact, I
would suggest you never use negative adverbials
without an inversion. Sorry, never should you use
negative adverbials without an inversion. It's such an
easy way to score points for complex grammar. And this is my favorite
inversion structure. If you have a favorite inversion
structure it probably means you have no friends but seriously this is
very useful in real life but also in the exam.
"Not only... but also..." Wow! Um, you! What is your name?
Oh! I'm Duke! Pleased to meet you! Okay Duke, and why do you think Monica
is so beautiful? Uh, yeah please tell us! Shut up, and let him talk!
Because she has eyes like the stars and a face like... A dog!
No an angel! Oh God! I guess, yeah!
"Not only" is our negative adverbial so this must go at the beginning of the
sentence. Then we must add the interrogative form.
So duke's sentence was in the present simple,
"Monica has eyes like the stars". "Not only does Monica have eyes like the
stars, but also a face like a dog"
No! An angel! All right, all right, fine. A face like an
angel! Yeah! Let's think of another example. Um, Bruce, what did you do
last weekend? Uh i drank and i killed a bird.
You what? Uh I killed a bird. Yeah it was like singing, it was
flying around and all that. No mate, I don't like birds.
Okay sure. Yeah I uh, I understand. So we start
by putting our negative adverbial at the beginning.
"Not only". Bruce's sentence was in the past simple, so we need the past simple
interrogative form of "i drank". "Not only did I drink
but I also killed a bird". Yeah, um here are some more examples...
Have a look, I'll just... I'll just wait here again
for you to read them. Finished? okay. Okay, okay, I promise this will be
the last time. You can use this structure in the
speaking. Actually, definitely use it in the speaking because
English people use this structure all the time.
So it will sound natural. For example: "Do you enjoy playing sports" "Yes I do!
I love skiing because not only is it fun but also a good way to stay in shape.
Just one example, I'm sure you can think of more.
You could also come across this in part two of the
use of english: the open cloze. Uh, an example
could be "Not only ___ jack listen to music but he also writes his
own songs". So here the answer would be
"does". Also expect this to come up in part four, uh predictable, the word
transformations. This doesn't come up that often but it
can do, so be on the lookout! An example could be
"the restaurant had great prices and delicious
food" So here the answer would be "Not only did the restaurant have great
prices but also the food was delicious".
And for the writing, yeah use this all the time.
Even if it's an informal letter to a friend that's fine, that's fine.
We use inversion with not only in English
every day. I do! I wake up and the first thing i say
is "Not only did I have a great night's sleep but
also beautiful dreams!".
This is as difficult as it gets and to be honest you will not be
tested on this in the b2 First exam but if you can do
it then the examiners will be so excited
that they eat their own faces! So do try. We use this to talk about two
events in the past: one event that immediately
follows another. For example "I went outside and immediately it
started to rain". "Scarcely had I gone outside
when it started to rain", "barely had I gone outside
when it started to rain". "Hardly had I gone outside
when it started to rain". You get the idea. Remember, the first clause must be in the
past perfect because we are emphasizing that this
action happened first. Another example "I watched the
video and immediately subscribed!". "Scarcely had I
watched the video when I subscribed!" "Hardly had I watched
the video when I subscribed!" "Barely had I watched
the video when I subscribed!" You get the idea, now
click that subscribe button! Yeah!? Thanks! Okay! Okay! This is going to be the
last time, I promise! You will not be tested on this in the
use of english paper. No way! This is far too complicated. You
could try and use it in the speaking, but this
is quite formal, it's quite literary. It's not really
suitable for a casual conversation. Now the writing! You could use it in the
writing! Next time you want to use a past perfect
maybe think "hmm could i use this structure here?". For
example: "The children started copying after the
teacher had left the classroom" "Scarcely had the teacher left the
classroom when the children started copying". Right, so if you're using
narrative tenses you could try and use this. Give it a go!
Even if you get it wrong the examiner will see you tried
and will go "Wow this guy really knows his stuff!"
So yeah, give it a go! Okay? Good! Goodbye from me bye-bye bye-bye bye-bye.
Can I give another example?! Can I give another example!?
Yeah. Scarcely had i seen Monica, when i realized she was
beautiful! Okay, thank you, very good. So now you know how to use inversion for
the b2 first exam! Yeah!
To recap: we know how to use inversion with "so",
"nor", "neither". We know how to use inversion with negative adverbials or frequency
like "seldom", "rarely", "barely", "hardly", "never". We know how to use inversion with "not
only but also". And as a special bonus we know how to
use inversion with "hardly", "scarcely", "barely"...
"when". Which brings me to the end of the video, so
thanks a lot for watching! If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that
like button, SMASH SUBSCRIBE, leave a comment
down below! My name is Toby and this was SMASH
English.