Introduzione

Con l'inversione si cambia la posizione del soggetto e del verbo ausiliare o modale.

Facciamo l'inversione:

• Quando cominciamo una frase con un'espressione avverbiale negativa, un'espressione avverbiale di luogo o semplicemente un avverbio
• Con "only after", "only if", "only when", etc. quando sono all'inizio della frase per un effetto retorico
• In subordinate ipotetiche senza "if"
• Per aggiungere enfasi, di solito dando un tono più formale.

Esempi

• "Under no circumstances should you open the box."
  (You should not open the box.)
   
• "On the table were three old books."
  (Three old books were on the table.)
   
• "Hardly had I entered the room when the orchestra began to play."
  (I had hardly entered the room when the orchestra began to play.)
   
• "Only when it started raining did he give me the umbrella."*
  (He gave me the umbrella only when it started raining.)
   

* Nota che l'inversione si verifica nella proposizione principale dopo espressioni quali after, only if, only when.

Ulteriori esempi

• "Had I gone to university, I might have been a doctor."
  (If I had gone to university, I might have been a doctor.)
   
• "Had I not gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor."
  (If I hadn’t gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor.)
   
• "Had you gone to university, would you have been a doctor?"
  (If you had gone to university, would you have been a doctor?)

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Alcuni avverbi negativi comuni

• Never (before), Rarely, Seldom…
• Under no circumstances…
• Hardly, Scarcely …when…
• No sooner…than…
• Little…
• In no way…
• Not only…but…
• On no account…
• At no time…

Esempi

• As soon as I arrived, the music started.
  "No sooner did I arrive than the music started."
   
• You mustn’t have the music too loud.
  "On no account must you have the music too loud." *
   
• He’d never seen anything like it before.
  "Never before had he seen anything like it." *
   
• I’d never seen the film.
  "At no time had I (ever) seen the film." *

* Nota che un verbo negativo si trasforma in verbo positivo quando segue un'espressione avverbiale negativa.

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Pratica

Trasforma le frasi seguenti:

.

1)

You mustn't let the dog off its lead.
Under no circumstances    the dog off its lead.

 

2)

She had never been there.
At no time    there.

 

3)

I am hardly ever late for work.
Rarely    late for work.

 

4)

This is not acceptable.
In no way    acceptable.

 

Please submit the missing answers shown in red
 

Submit

Ulteriore pratica

Scegli l'opzione corretta tra a, b, c o d:
.

1)

Seldom ____ on holiday as children.
 

did we go

we did go

we went

went we

 

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2)

Scarcely ____ the house when it started to rain.
 

had they left

they left

they hadn't left

they had left

 

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3)

____ more hard-working, she would have a job.
 

If were she

She were

Were she

She was

 

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4)

Out in the garden ____.
 

birds are

are there birds

birds aren't

are birds

 

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5)

On no account ____ the phone.
 

should you answer

answer you

you shouldn't answer

you should answer

 

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6)

Not only ____ but he was rude as well.
 

late was he

he wasn't late

he was late

was he late

 

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Please submit the missing answers shown in red
 

Submit