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We put an auxiliary verb (and non-auxiliary have and be) before the subject of a clause in several different structures. start learning
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Have your father and mother arrived? start learning
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Note that spoken questions do not always have this word order (see 462). start learning
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Indirect questions do not usually have this order (see 481.6). start learning
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I wondered what time the film was starting. start learning
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However, in formal writing inversion is sometimes used with be in indirect questions after how, especially when the subject is long. start learning
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I wondered how reliable was the information I had been given. start learning
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Exclamations often have the same structure as negative questions (see 360). start learning
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Isn't it cold? Hasn't she got lovely eyes? start learning
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In spoken American English, exclamations often have the same form as ordinary (non-negative) questions. start learning
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Have you got a surprise coming! Am I mad! start learning
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In a rather old-fashioned literary style, inversion is sometimes found in exclamations after how and what. start learning
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How beautiful are the flowers! What a peaceful place is Skegness! start learning
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May can come before the subject in wishes. start learning
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May all your wishes come true! start learning
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4. after so, neither, nor start learning
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In 'short answers' and similar structures, these words are followed by auxiliary verb + subject. start learning
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'I'm hungry.' 'So am I.' 'I don't like opera."Neither/Nor do I.' start learning
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5. after negative and restrictive expressions start learning
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If a negative adverb or adverbial expression is put at the beginning of a clause for emphasis, it is usually followed by auxiliary verb + subject. start learning
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These structures are mostly rather formal. start learning
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Under no circumstances can we cash cheques. start learning
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At no time was the President aware of what was happening. start learning
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Not until much later did she learn who her real father was. start learning
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The same structure is possible after a complete clause beginning not until... start learning
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Not until he received her letter did he fully understand the depth of her feelings. start learning
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Inversion is also used after restrictive words like hardly, seldom, rarely, little start learning
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and never, and after expressions containing only. start learning
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These structures, too, are formal or literary. start learning
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Hardly had I arrived when trouble started. start learning
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Seldom have I seen such a remarkable creature. start learning
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Little did he realise the danger he faced. start learning
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Never ... was so much owed by so many to so few. (Churchill) start learning
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Only then did I understand what she meant. start learning
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Only after her death was I able to appreciate her. start learning
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Not only did we lose our money, but we were nearly killed. start learning
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Inversion is not used after non-emphatic adverbial expressions of place and time. start learning
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Not far from here you can see foxes. start learning
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Inversion is used when not + object is put at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis. start learning
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Not a single word did she say. start learning
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Inversion sometimes happens after as, than and emphasising so in a literary style. start learning
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She was very religious, as were most of her friends. start learning
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City dwellers have a higher death rate than do country people. start learning
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So ridiculous did she look that everybody burst out laughing. start learning
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In formal and literary conditional clauses, an auxiliary verb can be put before the subject instead of using if. start learning
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Were she my daughter ... If she were my daughter ...) start learning
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Had I realised what you intended ... (= If I had realised ...) start learning
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Negatives are not contracted in this case. start learning
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Had we not spent all our money already, start learning
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