Garcia

Check word order. Inversion of subject and verb.

There are many rules pertaining to correct word order. Once you learn to identify and classify your words,

clauses and phrases you will quickly learn the correct and logical order of words in your writings and in your

speech. You have learned how to change words to different word groups with suffixes. Now you can see

that by changing words may change their location and how they are used in sentences.

Example: Let’s change the noun wood to the adjective wooden.

This table is made from wood.

This is a wooden table.

Note: In English, the adjective normally comes before the noun.

No matter what the word or what the clause or phrase, all have specific locations in sentences where and

where they may not be used. Some require helper words while others require that you omit the helper

words.

Examples

The boss yesterday asked for our reports. (wrong)

The boss asked for our reports yesterday. (correct)

Yesterday, the boss asked for our reports. (correct)

Time expressions are usually put at the end of a sentence.

If you don't want to put emphasis on the time, you can also put the adverb of time at the beginning of the sentence.

I often go swimming in the morning.

He doesn’t always play tennis on Fridays.

We are usually home in the evenings.

I have never been to a rock concert.

Some time expressions are adverbs of frequency (often, always, never, usually). These are usually put before the

main verb (except for 'be' as a main verb).

The president of the company asked his staff to think of a solution quickly. (wrong)

Here the adverb quickly is in the wrong location. This should be used to modify the verb think.

The president of the company asked his staff to quickly think of a solution. (correct)

The most common word order of the core parts of a sentence in English is

subject + verb + object

the subject comes before the verb in all but a few special situations. In these situations the word order of

the core parts is inverted and the verb is placed before the subject: just as it is in all direct questions.

Inverted word order is needed

1. When a sentence begins with there.

a) There is no basis for this complaint.

b) There are few excuses that bosses will accept.

2. When a sentence begins with a prepositional phrase, has an intransitive verb as a main verb, and

states a location.

a) On the corner stood a police officer.

b) In the box were several old photographs.

3. In conditional sentences without if or unless.

a) (If he asked her, she would surely help him.)

Were he to ask her, she would surely help him.

b) (If he had known, he would have come.)

Had he known, he would have come.

4. When a sentence begins with a negative word or expression such as never.

a) Not only did they go to the meeting but they also stayed until the end.

b) Never has the world faced so many problems.

5. When a sentence begins with only and a time expression, the subject and verb of the main clause

are inverted.

a) Only once was John late for work.

b) Only after her mother died, did she know loneliness.

6. When an adverb such as down, in, out, up is placed at the beginning of the sentence, the verb is

placed before the subject if the subject is a noun.

a) Down came the rain.

b) In walked the manager with his reports in hand.

7. When a sentence begins with few, such, so, little unless this word modifies a noun.

a) Little did she know that she had been promoted to vice-president.

b) So great was her

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