Word order and emphasis

Fronting; cleft sentences; inversion; inversion in conditional

sentences

Context listening
En Which of these qualities and characteristics might people use in describing you?
commitment confidence dedication enthusiasm loyalty modesty
determined efficient energetic patient persuasive reliable

Eis 02T Listen to this speech made in honour of Maria Adams, a music teacher. Which of the qualities
and characteristics in 1.1 does the speaker use to describe her?

fl1:12T Listen again and say whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F). If a sentence is false,
say why.

1 Maria was a violinist before she became a conductor. T

2 In the Musk in Schools project the council gives children musical instruments.

3 Musicians are not paid to take part in the Musk in Schools project.

4 Children in city schools now have to pay for their music lessons.

5 Maria helps children go to other countries to play music

1.4 1132/ These ideas are expressed in a different way by the speaker. Listen again and write down
exactly what he said.

1 We first met in the mid-1990s.

It was in the ma-1990's that we first met.

2 She sees making music as a fundamental part of a child's development.

3 The way she calmly and clearly argued her case impressed us most.

4 I have rarely met anyone with such passion for their beliefs.

5 The council has tried to make changes to the Music in Schools project a number of times in order to save money.

6 The council backed down only after Maria threatened to withdraw her support from the project.

What difference do you notice between the sentences given and the ones you have written in 1.4?

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Grammar
EU Fronting
We can emphasise a particular part of a sentence by moving it to the front of the sentence, changing the usual
word order
She sees making music as a fundamental part of a child's development. -'Making music she sees as a
fundamental part of a child's development. (fronting of object)
She resisted this. This she resisted. (fronting of object)
Maria had been writing to me for some weeks. For some weeks Maria had been writing to me. (fronting of
adverbial)

EH Cleft sentences
atrit47
It's among children from poorer backgrounds that the Music in Schools project has had most impact.
(emphasising among children from poorer backgrounds)
What impressed us most was the way she calmly and clearly argued her case. (emphasising the way she calmly
and clearly argued her case)

An it-cleft has the structure it + is/was + emphasised part + relative clause. The relative pronoun can be that,
which, who or no relative pronoun. When and where are used only in informal English:
It was in the mid-1990s that we first met, or informally ... when we first met.
A sentence with a wh-deft usually has the structure what-clause + is/was + emphasised part. Sometimes we use
all instead of what
What she was suggesting was that members of the YCO would volunteer their services.
All she ever wanted to do as she was growing up was play the violin. (= the only thing she ever wanted to do)
After the what-clause we usually use a singular form of be fn or was). However, informally, a plural form (are or
were) is sometimes used before a plural noun:
What she hopes to see is/are children who enjoy a wide range of musical styles.
We can sometimes put a wh-cleft at the end of a sentence
The way she calmly and clearly argued her case was what impressed us most
The Music in Schools project is what came out of our meeting.
To emphasise an action we can use a wh-cleft with what + subject + form of do + form of be + (to) + infinitive:
What she did was (to)convince us of the value of a musical education.

BD Inversion

In front of the committee sat Maria. (= verb + subject)

Seldom did she raise her voice. (= do + subject + verb) = inversion of normal word order
Never have I heard such a persuasive speaker (= auxiliary + subject + verb)
Word order is inverted after certain words and phrases when these are pu at the beginning of a sentence or
clause in order to emphasise them. This kind of inversion is found mainly in formal speech and writing.

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21 Word order and emphasis

Inversion occurs after words and phrases with a 'negative' meaning

the negative adverbs never (before), rarely, seldom; barely/hardly/scarcely when/before; no sooner... than;
nowhere; neither, nor
Rarely have I met anyone with such enthusiasm.
No sooner had Maria walked through the door than she started to talk about her proposal.
hadn't met Maria before, and nor had the other members of the committee.
(See also Unit 17,2.3 for more on hardly, no sooner and scarcely.)
only + a time expression (e.g. after, later, then) or a prepositional phrase
Only after Maria threatened to withdraw her support did the council back down.
the prepositional phrases at no time, on no account, under/in no circumstances; in no way (or no way in
informal language):
At no time has she ever accepted payment for her educational work
She argued that under no circumstances should children from poorer backgrounds be made to pay for
music lessons.
expressions with not not only, not until, not since, not for one moment, not once, not a + noun:
Not only has she persuaded YCO members to give up their time, but she has also encouraged visiting
musicians to give free concerts in schools.
little with a negative meaning
Little did she realise when she set up the project that it would be so influential.
Inversion also occurs after:
time sequence adverbs such as first, next, now, then with be or come
And then came an invitation to be a special adviser to the government on music education.
If there is a comma (,) or an intonation break in speech after the adverb, normal word order is used:
Then, an invitation came from the government. (not Thenreamean-i9vitaben ...)
so + adjective ... that emphasising the adjective
So successful has Music in Schools been that those involved in music education around the world have visited
the city to see the project in action.
such + be ...that, emphasising the extent or degree of something
Such was her understanding of music education that the government wanted to draw on her expertise.
(= Her understanding of music education was such that ...)

2.4 Inversion in conditional sentences

In formal or literary English, we can use clauses beginning were, should and had, with inversion of subject and
verb, instead of a hypothetical conditional:
Were she ever to leave the orchestra, ... (= If she left ... or If she were to leave ...)
Were he here tonight, ... (= If he was/were here tonight...)
Should you need any more information about Music in Schools, ... (= If you need ...)
Had Maria not been around, ...(= If she had not been around ...)
In negative clauses with inversion, we don't use contracted forms:
Had Maria not set up the Music in Schools project ... (not Hadk-Nhafia-set-up ...)

ISO
 Word order and emphasis 21
Grammar exercises
EEI Write a new sentence with a similar meaning to the original. Emphasise the information underlined
using an it-cleft or a wh-cleft at the beginning of the sentence. Sometimes both are possible.

1 I want you to hold the cat tightly while I out on this collar.

2 She announced she was going to join the air force at her 18th birthday party.

3 A: So how did you get the car out of the mud?

B: We asked a farmer to gull us out with his tractor.

4 k What do you thinks wrong with the car?

B: The battery could be flat.
5 This huge bunch of flowers arrived for me this morning. I don't know who sent them.

6 My parents must have given Wei my telephone number.

7 The research shows a link between salt intake and rates of heart disease.
8 His nervous laugh made me think he was lying.
1 IAMat I want you to do is hold. the, cat tightly while I pith on this uliar

eg Match the sentence halves. Write new sentences with a similar meaning starting Should ...,
Had ... or Were....

1 If you require further details, a she might have made a full recovery.

2 If today's match has to be postponed, b the insurance covers a full refund.

3 If anyone had been looking at Maria when c please contact our public information
the police arrived, office.

4 If taxes were to be increased further, d there would be a huge public outcry.

5 If the doctors had operated sooner, e we would not have begun the climb.

6 If I were president, I it will be replayed next week.

7 If your flight is cancelled, g they would have noticed the expression

of panic on her face.
8 If heavy snow had been forecast,
h I would introduce three-day weekends.
1+ c Should- you require further demus, please contact our publication information office.

2
3
4
5
6
7

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21 Word order and emphasis

pp Complete the sentences with appropriate words. Use three words only in each sentence.
1 I thought the insurance policy would pay my hospital fees. At no time was I told, / was I Mfortned.,
that it did not cover skiing injuries.
2 Seldom piano playing of such maturity from someone so young. I'm very
impressed indeed.
3 He felt someone bump against him on the crowded bus, but only later that his
wallet had been stolen.
4 I found the old bracelet while I was walking along the beach. Little then that I
had made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent years.
5 Not since Philip and Gary Neville last played in 2004 two brothers in the
England football team.
6 I asked her to describe her attacker, but only after several minutes me.
7 No sooner into bed than his flatmate started playing his drums.
8 The Atlantic crossing took eight days. I was in Isabella's company on several occasions, but not a word
to me until near the end of the journey.

3.4 Rewrite the underlined parts of the conversation, emphasising the word(s) in italics. In each case use
fronting, a cleft sentence or inversion.

I hear you and Anna didn't have a great holiday on the island.
No, not really, although (1) we liked the island a lot. (2) The hotel was the real problem.
Why? What was wrong with it?
Our room was just awful. The shower only had cold water and the air conditioning didn't work.
Didn't you complain?
Oh yes. Anna was pretty annoyed and went down to reception to complain. But they told her she
was just being fussy and (3) she got really furious about that. She insisted on seeing the manager, and
demanded that something should be done.
And was it?
Well, we had a steady stream of workers coming into the room after that. (4) An electrician camefirst
and then the next day a plumber. But neither of the problems got fixed. (5) It took them three claws to
decide that we needed another room.
You must have been fed up with the hotel by that time.
I think (6) the attitude of the staff annoyed me most - they really just didn't care. (7) I have never
seen such a total lack of interest from people who are supposed to be providing a service. (8) No one
avologised once the whole time we were there ...
the. island we liked, a tot 5
2 6
3 7
8

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II Exam practice Word order and emphasis 21
Reading and Use of English Part 4
For questions 1 - 6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words, including
the word given. Here is an example (0).

0 He always calls his house his 'castle'.

REFERS
He always refers to lus house as his 'castle'.

1 She was proud of her work, and she was also well respected by her colleagues.
TAKE
Not only her work, she was also well respected by her colleagues.

2 She hated publicity so much that she never gave any interviews to the media.
HER
Such of publicity, that she never gave any interviews to the media.

3 During her illness, she realised that the only choice she had was to take early retirement.
ALTERNATIVE
During her illness, she realised that there to take early retirement.

4 I had only just complained about the new timetable when it was changed.
MADE
No sooner about the new timetable than it was changed.

5 I'm sure she would do an excellent job if she ever became head of department.
WERE
I'm sure she would do an excellent job head of department.

6 It is distinctly possible that I will get promoted in the near future.

OF
There is a promoted in the near future.

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