Normally in English the verb comes after
the subject. For example: Toby teaches. Bruce
drinks. Monica talks... and talks... and talks...
However this is not always the case. Sometimes
the verb can come before the subject and this
is called "inversion". Sounds difficult? Well no, it's not,
if you know what to do. My name is Toby, this is SMASH English, and here is how to
use inversion to pass the B2 First Cambridge exam. You already use inversion all the time.
Actually you probably use inversion every time
you speak english. Let's look at these sentences
again. Toby teaches. Bruce drinks. Monica talks. They are in the present
simple. What are the interrogative forms? Does
Toby teach? Does Bruce drink? Does Monica talk?
Now look. Here we have the auxiliary verb before the subject. And that's
inversion. Very easy, but it gets more complicated. Let's look at some
other uses of inversion in English. We use "so", "neither"
and "nor" as additions at the end of
statements. They express agreement but
they require an inversion. For example: "my cat eats insects and i
do too" instead of saying "too" here, we can use "so do I". "My cat eats
insects and so do I". This is in the present simple
so we use "so" + the auxiliary verb "do" with "I". Wow! Monica! you're so beautiful!
I! really love you! Don't compliment her! What are you doing!?
Oh my God! So do I! I really love myself actually, because
if you can't love yourself then i don't think you can love anyone else!
"Neither" and "nor" are the same but they are for negative agreement: for something
that you don't do, something you didn't do, something that
you hadn't done... you get the idea. "I have never liked
skiing" "nor have I". "I have never been bungee
jumping." "nor have I". "I hadn't done my homework"
"nor had i". Oh how exciting! Monica! Monica! I don't like Bruce!
And nor do I! Oh my God! Isn't that great! Uuuuh, what what are you trying to say!?
I was just joking Bruce! I really like you! Don't hurt me!
Um i wasn't joking! "Neither" is exactly the same as "nor", we just use it
instead of "nor". Um, here are some more examples for you. Oh,
hello! So when could you use this inversion structure in the exam?
Well in the speaking exam for starters. When you have something in common with
your partner say "so do I", "so am I",
"so have I". If you agree that you don't do something say "nor do I" or "neither do I",
"neither am I", "neither have I". It's very easy to do
so there's no excuses for not doing it. Another part of the exam where this
could possibly come up is part two of the use of
english section: the open cloze part. An example question
could be "I had a great time and so ___ tom"
here the answer would be "did". Or "I didn't like the meal and ___
did Jerry". Well here the answer would be "neither" or "nor". ow this is where it gets
a little bit more difficult so listen closely. Yeah... we can also use inversion with
negative adverbials. The simplest of these are the negative
adverbials of frequency: "rarely", "hardly ever", "barely ever",
"seldom", "never". Um Bruce give me a sentence sentence with the word "rarely" please. I
am rarely sober! Okay then, so the first thing we do is
put "rarely", the negative adverbial, at the
beginning of the sentence. Now we need to add the
interrogative form. The statement is "I am sober", the
interrogative form: "am I sober". This gives us the inversion
"rarely am i sober". Honestly it's easy but the examiners love it,
so do it! Yes! Can i give an example? I have never seen a girl
as beautiful as Monica before! The negative adverbial here
is "never" so that must go at the beginning
of our sentence. Next we need to add an interrogative form. The statement "I have
never seen a girl as beautiful as Monica before" is the
present perfect. This means we need the auxiliary verb
"have" plus the subject. So then "never have i seen
a girl as beautiful as Monica before" Yeah... Or you could say
"Never before have i seen a girl as beautiful as Monica".
Both of these are fine. Here are some more examples... I'll just stand here whilst you look at
them... Sorry, I'm being annoying... Oh! You're back again! So where could you
use these negative adverbials of frequency
with inversion in the exam? Well how about the speaking?
But make sure your intonation is correct. We use this structure to emphasize
something. So be emphatic when you are giving your
answers! "Do you play sport?" "Rarely do I play sport.
I love playing sports but I don't have the time.
"Do you often go to restaurants?" Seldom do I go to restaurants these days.
I just don't have the money. This structure could also appear
in part two of the use of english exam: the open close section. An example
question could be: "rarely ___ people these days
visit libraries". The answer here is "do" of course. You could also find this
in part four: the word transformation part of the use of english paper. Oh the
worst part! An example could be "people are never
interested in what i have to say". Here
the answer would be "Never are people interested in what i have to say"
You can use this inversion structure in any part of the writing exam.
Maybe not in an informal email to a friend but other than that
use this as much as you want. In fact, I would suggest you never use negative
adverbials without an inversion. Sorry, never should
you use negative adverbials without an inversion.
It's such an easy way to score points for complex
grammar. And this is my favorite inversion structure.
If you have a favorite inversion structure it probably means you
have no friends but seriously this is very useful in
real life but also in the exam. "Not only... but also..."
Wow! Um, you! What is your name? Oh! I'm Duke! Pleased to meet you!
Okay Duke, and why do you think Monica is so beautiful? Uh, yeah please tell us!
Shut up, and let him talk! Because she has eyes like the stars
and a face like... A dog! No an angel!
Oh God! I guess, yeah! "Not only" is our negative adverbial so
this must go at the beginning of the sentence.
Then we must add the interrogative form. So duke's sentence was in the present
simple, "Monica has eyes like the stars".
"Not only does Monica have eyes like the stars,
but also a face like a dog" No! An angel! All right, all right, fine. A
face like an angel! Yeah! Let's think of
another example. Um, Bruce, what did you do last weekend? Uh i drank
and i killed a bird. You what? Uh I killed a bird.
Yeah it was like singing, it was flying around and all that.
No mate, I don't like birds. Okay sure. Yeah I uh, I understand. So we
start by putting our negative adverbial at the
beginning. "Not only". Bruce's sentence was in the
past simple, so we need the past simple interrogative form
of "i drank". "Not only did I drink but I also killed a bird".
Yeah, um here are some more examples... Have a look, I'll just... I'll just wait
here again for you to read them. Finished?
okay. Okay, okay, I promise this will be the last time.
You can use this structure in the speaking. Actually, definitely use it in
the speaking because English people use this structure all
the time. So it will sound natural. For example:
"Do you enjoy playing sports" "Yes I do! I love skiing because not only is it fun
but also a good way to stay in shape. Just one example, I'm sure you can think
of more. You could also come across this in part
two of the use of english: the open cloze. Uh, an
example could be "Not only ___ jack
listen to music but he also writes his own
songs". So here the answer would be "does". Also expect this to come up in part
four, uh predictable, the word transformations.
This doesn't come up that often but it can do, so
be on the lookout! An example could be "the restaurant had great prices and
delicious food" So here the answer would be
"Not only did the restaurant have great prices
but also the food was delicious". And for the writing, yeah use this all
the time. Even if it's an informal letter to a
friend that's fine, that's fine. We use inversion with not only in
English every day. I do! I wake up and the first
thing i say is "Not only did I have a great night's
sleep but also beautiful dreams!". This is as difficult as
it gets and to be honest you will not be tested on this
in the b2 First exam but if you can do it
then the examiners will be so excited that they eat their own faces! So
do try. We use this to talk about two events in the past: one event that
immediately follows another. For example
"I went outside and immediately it started
to rain". "Scarcely had I gone outside when it started to rain", "barely had I
gone outside when it started to rain". "Hardly had I
gone outside when it started to rain". You get the idea.
Remember, the first clause must be in the past perfect
because we are emphasizing that this action happened
first. Another example "I watched the video
and immediately subscribed!". "Scarcely had I watched the video
when I subscribed!" "Hardly had I watched the video
when I subscribed!" "Barely had I watched the video
when I subscribed!" You get the idea, now click that subscribe button! Yeah!? Thanks! Okay! Okay! This is going to be the last time, I promise!
You will not be tested on this in the use of english paper.
No way! This is far too complicated. You could
try and use it in the speaking, but this is quite formal,
it's quite literary. It's not really suitable for a casual conversation.
Now the writing! You could use it in the writing!
Next time you want to use a past perfect maybe think "hmm
could i use this structure here?". For example:
"The children started copying after the teacher had left the classroom"
"Scarcely had the teacher left the classroom when the children started
copying". Right, so if you're using narrative tenses
you could try and use this. Give it a go! Even if you get it wrong the examiner
will see you tried and will go "Wow this guy really knows
his stuff!" So yeah, give it a go! Okay? Good! Goodbye
from me bye-bye bye-bye bye-bye. Can I give another example?! Can I give
another example!? Yeah. Scarcely had i seen Monica,
when i realized she was beautiful! Okay, thank you, very good. So
now you know how to use inversion for the
b2 first exam! Yeah! To recap: we know how to use inversion
with "so", "nor", "neither". We know how to use inversion
with negative adverbials or frequency like "seldom", "rarely", "barely", "hardly", "never".
We know how to use inversion with "not only but also".
And as a special bonus we know how to use inversion
with "hardly", "scarcely", "barely"... "when". Which brings me to the end of
the video, so thanks a lot for watching! If you liked
the video don't forget to SMASH that like button, SMASH SUBSCRIBE, leave a
comment down below! My name is Toby and
this was SMASH English.
