INVERSION

Questions, conditionals, and

comparisons

WHAT IS INVERSION?
Subject is followed by Predicate
Jane goes to mall every Sunday.
The students can take the test result after this

class.

However, in some occasion, Subject follows

Predicate

Never does Jane go to mall every Sunday.

Can the students take the test result after this

class?

This phenomenon is called INVERSION

to add Emphasis

KINDS OF INVERSION
S + V with Question Words
S + V with Conditionals
S + V with Comparisons
S + V with Place Expressions
S + V with Negatives

INVERSION IN QUESTIONS
To form a question with a helping verb

(be, have, can, could, will, would, etc)

He can

go to the movies.

Can he go to the movies?

You would

tell me the truth.

Would you tell me the truth?

She was

sick yesterday.

Was she sick yesterday?

INVERSION IN QUESTIONS
To form a question without any helping

verbs

He goes to the movies.

Does he go to the movies?

You told me the truth.

Did you tell me the truth?

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH CONDITIONALS
When the verb in the conditional clause is

had, should, or were, it is possible to omit

if and invert the subject and verb.
If I go to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother.
*Go I to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother.

If he has enough vacation days left this year,

he will take two full weeks off in December.

*Has he enough vacation days left this year, he will

take two full weeks off in December.

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH CONDITIONALS
If you should arrive before 6:00, just give me call.

Should you arrive before 6:00, just give me a call.

If you should require any further information,

please contact us at our office in Green Street.

Should you require any further information, please
contact us at our office in Green Street.

If you should see Kate, say hi from me.

Should you see Kate, say hi from me.

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH CONDITIONALS
I would help you if I were in a position to help.
I would help you were I in a position to help.

If I were you, I would stop smoking.

Were I you, I would stop smoking.

If it werent for John, I wouldnt know what to

do now.
Were it not

now.

for John, I wouldnt know what to do

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH CONDITIONALS
If he had taken more time, the results would have

been better.
Had he taken more time, the results would have been

better.

If we had booked our flight earlier, it would have

been cheaper.
Had we booked our flight earlier, it would have been cheaper.

If it hadnt been for your foolishness, we wouldnt

have got lost.

Had it not been for your foolishness, we wouldnt have got

lost.

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH COMPARISONS
My sister spends more hours in the office than John.
My sister spends more hours in the office than John

does.
My sister spends more hours in the office than does

John.

We were more prepared than the other performers.

We were more prepared than the other performers were.
We were more prepared than were the other performers.

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB

WITH COMPARISONS
She was as delighted with the suggestion as he was.
She was

as delighted with the suggestion as was he.

The closer an object is to another object, the greater is

the gravity between the two objects.

Her face was stony and even stonier was the tone of

her voice.
The harder you study, the higher score is yours.
The more handsome you are, the more popular are you.

REWRITE INTO INVERTED

VERSIONS
If you should require any further information,

please contact us at our office in Green

Street.
If anything had gone wrong with my plan, I

would have been held responsible.

Jessica is more interested in Computer

Science than Benjamin.

You speak Chinese better than I.

Cheetahs run faster than antelopes.