Joy English
Joy English

C1 Grammatica

C1Inversione22 min

Inversione dopo avverbiali negativi e restrittivi

Inversion after negative and restrictive adverbials

Metti l'ausiliare prima del soggetto dopo espressioni come hardly, not until e under no circumstances.

Quando una frase inizia con un avverbiale negativo o restrittivo, l'inglese spesso inverte il soggetto e il verbo ausiliare. Questa inversion dà maggiore enfasi alla scrittura formale e ai discorsi. Confronta la frase neutra She had rarely seen such skill con quella enfatica Rarely had she seen such skill.

Espressione inizialeCostruzioneEsempio
Never, rarely, seldom, littleadverb + auxiliary + subjectSeldom do we get such honest feedback.
Hardly / scarcely ... whenhad + subject + past participleHardly had the talk begun when the lights failed.
No sooner ... thanhad + subject + past participleNo sooner had she left than the phone rang.
Not only ... but (also)auxiliary + subjectNot only did he apologise, but he also paid for the damage.
Only after / only when / not untilauxiliary + subject in the main clauseOnly after the storm did the villagers see the damage.
Under no circumstances, on no account, at no timeauxiliary or modal + subjectOn no account should the door be left open.
Nowhere, in no way, by no meansauxiliary + subjectNowhere in the report is the cost mentioned.

Se la frase non ha un verbo ausiliare, aggiungi do, does or did, esattamente come faresti in una domanda: Little did they know that the contract was already void. Con il verbo be, si sposta be stesso: Never was the city so quiet.

Inversione condizionale

Nell'inglese formale puoi omettere if e invertire. Questo funziona con had, were e should. Il significato non cambia, ma il registro diventa più elevato.

  • Had I known the risks, I would have refused. (If I had known ...)
  • Were the funding to be cut, the project would collapse. (If the funding were cut ...)
  • Should you need further help, contact the office. (If you should need ...)
  • Not until the results arrived did anyone suspect an error.

Esercizio 1 di 2

Scegli la forma corretta

Scegli l'opzione che completa correttamente ogni frase.

  1. Not only _____ the deadline, but she also exceeded every target.

  2. Rarely _____ such a thoughtful reply to harsh criticism.

  3. No sooner had the lecture begun _____ the projector stopped working.

  4. Hardly had we sat down _____ the waiter brought the menus.

  5. Only after the results were published _____ the scale of the problem.

  6. Under no circumstances _____ the storage room be left unlocked.

  7. Little _____ that the decision would change her career for ever.

  8. Nowhere in the whole document _____ any mention of the budget overrun.

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Esercizio 2 di 2

Completa le frasi

Scrivi una parola in ogni spazio per rendere la frase corretta e formale.

  1. Not until the sensors failed the engineers notice the fault.

  2. No sooner had she arrived the meeting started.

  3. Seldom I seen such careful craftsmanship.

  4. Only when the lights went out we realise how quiet the town was.

  5. On no account the exhibits be touched by visitors.

  6. Hardly the film begun when the power went off.

  7. Not only the manager apologise, but he also offered a full refund.

  8. I known the risks, I would have declined the offer.

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Fonte

Lezione originale di Joy English.

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