Inversion

Grammar Lesson

Inversion

by Ms Shan

​Knowledge and Use of Inversion

​The usual sentence starts with a subject.

​- Joshua has never told a lie.

​- Bella has never scolded me.

​

​The inverted sentence starts with the most important information, to emphasise it.

​Never has Joshua told a lie.

​Not once has Bella scolded me.

​Add a Helping Verb

​If the sentence has only one main verb, we have to add a helping verb such as: is/was, do/does, has/have etc.

​

We change the main verb to its base form, removing -s, -ed or -ing endings.

​

​He plays the piano and skates in the park sometimes.

​Not only does he play the piano, but he also skates in the park sometimes.

​Use the Base Form of the Main Verb

​Use helping verbs like do, does and did with the base form of the main verb.

It is wrong to write the main verb in the -s or -ed forms.

​

​He plays ...

​✘ ... does he plays ...

​✔ ... does he play ...

​

​He played ...

​✘ ... did he played ...

​✔ ... did he play ...