Negative Inversion Exercises and Examples - Inversion after Negative Adverbials

Negative Inversion Exercises

These exercises focus on Negative Inversion

Negative inversion happens when a sentence begins with a negative adverbial (e.g., never, seldom, hardly) and the subject-verb order is reversed.

✅ Normal sentence:

This structure makes the sentence more dramatic, formal, or persuasive.

These adverbs mean “not often” or “almost never.” They are used with present perfect, past perfect, or modal verbs (can, could, etc.).

Normal Sentence	Sentence with Inversion
I have never seen such a big cake.	Never have I seen such a big cake.
She seldom visits her hometown.	Seldom does she visit her hometown.
They can rarely afford to travel.	Rarely can they afford to travel.

These words describe an event that happened immediately before another event. They are often used with the past perfect tense.

Normal Sentence	Sentence with Inversion
We had hardly started eating when the phone rang.	Hardly had we started eating when the phone rang.
She had no sooner left than it started raining.	No sooner had she left than it started raining.
He had barely spoken when the teacher interrupted him.	Barely had he spoken when the teacher interrupted him.

🔹 Note:

Expressions like only after, only when, only later require inversion.

Normal Sentence	Sentence with Inversion
I realised the mistake only after I submitted the form.	Only after I submitted the form did I realise the mistake.
They discovered the truth only later.	Only later did they discover the truth.

Phrases like under no circumstances, in no way, on no account require inversion.

Normal Sentence	Sentence with Inversion
You should not enter under any circumstances.	Under no circumstances should you enter.
We did not agree to this in any way.	In no way did we agree to this.

"Little" in negative inversion shows that someone was unaware of something.

Normal Sentence	Sentence with Inversion
She did not know she would become famous.	Little did she know she would become famous.
People do not realise how hard it is.	Little do people realise how hard it is.

❌ Wrong: Never I have seen such a thing.
✅ Correct: Never have I seen such a thing.

❌ Wrong: Hardly I had finished my homework when my mom called.
✅ Correct: Hardly had I finished my homework when my mom called.

❌ Wrong: Only after he left, I understood.
✅ Correct: Only after he left did I understand.

While negative inversion is mostly formal, it can be used in everyday speech for storytelling and emphasis.

✅ Casual conversation:

✅ Formal speech/writing:

You may also find it useful looking at the lessons about Cleft Sentences and Fronting.

Negative inversion happens when a sentence starts with a negative adverbial (e.g., never, hardly, not only), and the subject-verb order is reversed.

It is used for emphasis, making speech and writing sound more dramatic, formal, or persuasive.

Common ones include:

Yes, but it is more common in formal writing, literature, and storytelling.