C1 — AdvancedGrammar· Inversion
Inversion and Emphatic Structures
Add emphasis with negative inversion, cleft sentences and fronting, as expected in advanced writing.
18 min Challenging
Negative inversion
- Never have I seen such a response.
- Not only did she apologise, but she also offered a refund.
- Rarely / Seldom / Little / Under no circumstances + auxiliary + subject
Cleft sentences
- It was the delay that caused the complaint.
- What surprised me most was the tone of the reply.
- All I want is a clear answer.
After a fronted negative adverbial the clause takes question word order, but it is still a statement.