GRAMMAR II STRUCTURES USED FOR EMPHASIZING INVERSION: We sometimes put a verb or verb phrase in front of the subject after

adverbs of place: on, in, here, there, outside, opposite; and adverbs of time: next, then, first, now, finally. We can use a form of be or verbs of place and movement: stand, sit, lie, come, go, climb, run, sail, fly before the subject. We often use this pattern to form a link with the information in the previous sentence and it is common in formal English. Here lies the body of our late lamented sovereign. Opposite stood an ancient oak tree over a charming wishing well. This structure is NOT used if the subject of the clause is a pronoun. Here it comes. Here comes it.

We can also use inversion in as and than clauses in formal English. Mr. Slater is expecting a pay rise, as are several other employees. Im afraid her proposals are no more feasible than are those of her colleagues. For emphasis we can put an auxiliary: be, do have, should, can before the subject in statements, the rest of the verb phrase follows the subject. After adverbs with restrictive negative meaning: hardly, scarcely, rarely, little, never. Little did we realize the extent of his involvement. Never have I seen such a disturbing sight. Only + time expression or prepositional phrase: Only later did he manage to get permission. Only with a great deal of effort was he able to escape. (in) no way, at no time, under no circumstances, on no account: No way am I going to wear that! Under no circumstances can refunds be given. Not + only / time expressions / person or thing: Not only is he late, he hasnt even brought a present. Not a single stone was left untouched in the search. Not since the sixties has a pop band been so successful. No sooner than No sooner had we set out tan it started pouring. Clauses beginning with neither or nor 1

They have no intention of paying, neither have we. We couldnt face the customers and nor could the boss. Clauses beginning with may that express a strong wish. May he live to regret his decision! After fronted comparisons also, such and so. The captain is refusing to play under these conditions and so is the rest of the team. So happy was he that he danced around the room. Also in the report was a strong criticism. In conditional sentences without if. Were he here he would help me. Had I known there was a problem, I would have come earlier.

CLEFT SENTENCES: It cleft sentences: A special construction which gives both thematic and focal prominence to a particular element of the clause is the cleft sentence, so called because it divides a single clause into two separate sections, each with its own verb. Most cleft sentence statements begin with the pronoun it followed by the verb be, which in turn is followed by the element on which the focus falls. From a single clause such as John wore his best suit to the dance last night, it is possible to derive four cleft sentences, each highlighting a particular element of the clause: Subject as focus: It was John who/that wore his best suit to the dance last night. Direct object as focus: It was his best suit (that) John wore to the dance last night. Adverbial of time as focus: It was last night (that) John wore his best suit to the dance. Adverbial of place as focus: It was to the dance that John wore his best suit last night. The cleft sentence marks the focus of information in written English, where intonation is absent. The highlighted element has the full implication of contrastive focus where a contrast is inferred with the other items in the clause. Apart from the elements we saw in the previous example the two less common clause elements that can act as the focus of a cleft sentence are the indirect object and complement of the object: Indirect object as focus: It was John (that) he gave the book. But It was John that he gave the book to. 2

Or It was to John (that) he gave the book. likely) Complement of the object as focus:

(John as a prepositional complement is more

Its dark green that weve painted the kitchen. Wh- clefts: these constructions consist of a clause introduced by a wh- word, usually what; this clause has its own point of focus, usually at the end of the wh- clause, a form of the verb be and the specially focused nominal element: a noun phrase or a complement clause. In the examples below the specially focused element is in bold, and the dependent wh-clause is placed in ( ): Noun phrase

(What I really need) is another credit card. Bare infinitive phrase

(What you should do) is label the goods. To-infinitive clause

(What he did) was to go to Holy Trinity Church. Wh-clefts are less flexible than it-clefts in that they cannot be used to focus on a prepositional phrase: It is to that boy (that she has remained faithful) but not: *What she has remained faithful is to that boy. On the other hand, wh-clefts have an advantage over it-clefts because they have a double emphasis: they give some emphasis to the opening nominal clause as well as to the element in final position. What I would really love is a long hot bath. What they did was to buy themselves a new house. What I should do is find myself another job. FRONTING: This means placing in initial position a clause element (complement of the subject, objects or adverbials) which is normally found after the verb. It is relatively rare in English and used in spoken language to emphasize a particular part of a sentence, perhaps to contradict what someone else has said or for dramatic effect. We can do this with stress and intonation alone or by changing the order of the elements in a sentence. It is also common in fiction and academic prose. Shes such a lovely person; so friendly and reliable. She may be friendly but she isnt reliable. Friendly she may be, but reliable she isnt. I disagree with that. That I disagree with. His name is Joe. Joe his name is. In London I was born and in London Ill die. 3

Really good cocktails they made at that hotel. We can also use fronting when we want to start a sentence with known information or we want to make an emphatic comparison with information in a previous sentence, we can use a comparative or superlative phrase at the beginning with the verb be followed by the subject (inversion). The first band was dire. Much more exciting was the second group that played. Many of the monuments are truly fantastic. Best of all is the Coliseum. Following are some examples of the use of fronting: type fronted object examples 1 This I do not understand. 2 Why he came this way I will probably never know. description The object of the clause is in initial position. Many different structures occur as fronted objects, such as nouns, pronouns (1), and complement clauses (2). A nominal structure is in initial position, such as the complement to the adjective certain in the example here (She could not be certain whether Nancy was here or not) A subject predicative is in initial position. Many structures can occur as fronted predicatives. Special cases include proportion clauses with the (2) and degree clauses with so that (3). Some fronted predicatives occur with inversion (1, 3) An infinitive (1), ingparticiple (2) or edparticiple (3) is in initial position. Its complements are fronted with it (e.g. down in come down). Some fronted non-finite predicates occur with inversion (2, 3) Dependent clauses that use the subordinator as (1) or though (2) sometimes have an element placed before the subordinator. (1) illustrates fronting of a main verb and (2) illustrates fronting of a predicative.

fronted nominal other than object

Whether Nancy was there or not, she could not be certain.

fronted predicates

1 Far more serious were the severe head injuries. 2 The larger the base the easier it will be to perform the action. 3 So preoccupied was she that she was unaware that Diana was standing in the doorway. 1 I have said he would come down and come down he did. 2 Waiting below was Michael Sams. 3 Enclosed is a card for our permanent signature file 1 Try as she might to make it otherwise . . .
2 . . . unsuccessful though they have been in their proposals . . .

fronted non-finite constructions

fronting in dependent clauses that use as or though

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