Unit 28

DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

ORGANIZING INFORMATION, INVERSION

  1. Some common variations on the basic word order

    We normally avoid separating a subject from its verb and a verb from its object [e.g. with an adverb], though there are exceptions even to this basic rule. However, note these common variations in the basic subject/verb/(object)/(adverbial) order:
  2. Inversion after adverbs

    Sometimes the normal subject-verb order in a sentence is reversed if a sentence begins with an adverb. This can happen as follows:

    1. Inversion after adverbs of place like 'here', 'there'
      After here and there and after adverb particles such as back, down, off, up, etc. the noun subject comes after the verb. This is common with verbs of motion, such as come and go:
      Here comes a taxi! There goes the last train! (Note the progressive is not used here.)
      Down came the rain and up went the umbrellas.
      This kind of inversion is common after be when we are offering things or identifying location (often with a plural subject):
      Here's a cup of tea for you. (offer)
      Here's your letters. (offering or indicating)
      'There's (stressed) Johnny Smith. (identifying location)
      Inversion does not occur if the subject is a pronoun:
      Here it comes. There she goes. Up it went.
      Here you are. (offer) There she is. (identifying location)

    2. Inversion after adverbials of place
      After adverbials of place with verbs of position (e.g. lie, live, sit, stand) or motion (e.g. come, go, rise), the noun subject can follow the verb. This happens mainly in descriptive writing:
      At the top of the hill stood the tiny chapel.
      In the fields of poppies lay the dying soldiers.
      This inversion also occurs in the passive with other verbs:
      In the distance could be seen the purple mountains.
      Inversion does not occur if the subject is a pronoun:
      At the top of the hill it stood out against the sky.

    3. Inversion after negative adverbs, etc.
      Certain adverbs, when used at the beginning of a sentence, must be followed by auxiliary verbs (be, do, have, can, must, etc.) + subject + the rest of the sentence. This kind of inversion, which may be used for particular emphasis, is typical of formal rhetoric and formal writing. It occurs after the following:
      • negative or near-negative adverbs (often of time or frequency, such as never, rarely, seldom); or adverbs having a negative effect, e.g. little, on no account.:
        Never/Seldom has there been so much protest against the Bomb.
        Little does he realize how important this meeting is.
        On no account must you accept any money if he offers it.

        The word order is, of course, normal when these adverbs do not begin a sentence:
        There has never/seldom been so much protest against the Bomb.
        He little realizes how important this meeting is.

      • combinations with only (e.g. only after, only then):
        The pilot reassured the passengers. Only then did I realize how dangerous the situation had been.
      • so + adjective (+ that) and such (+ that):
        So sudden was the attack (that) we had no time to escape.
        Such was his strength that he could bend iron bars.


  3. Conditionals

    1. Type 1, Variation 2: 'If + should' + e.g. imperative
      'if'-clause or variation main clause: e.g. imperative
      condition to be satisfied -> request, suggestion, etc.
      If you (should) see him, >
      Should you see him, >
      If you (should) happen to see him, > please give him my regards.
      Should you happen to see him, >

      If + should (+ bare infinitive), instead of if + present, makes the condition more doubtful:
      If he calls, tell him I'll ring back. (normal Type 1)
      If he should call, tell him I'll ring back. (if + should)

      The main clause is not necessarily always an imperative:
      If I should see him, I'll ask him to ring you.

      If + should + imperative in the main clause is used especially when we want to make polite requests or suggestions, or to tell people (tactfully) what to do:
      If you should write to her, send her my love.
      If you should go to Nairobi, go and see the Snake Park.


      Imperatives can also be used in ordinary Type 1 conditions:
      Cancel the match if it rains. If it rains, cancel the match.

      The only kind of negative we can form with should is e.g. should you not (see example next paragraph); otherwise we must use the negative form of the simple present:
      If you don't see him_ (Not *If you shouldn't*)

      A condition can be expressed without if by beginning a sentence with should. This is rather formal and is often found, for example, in business letters, not in everyday conversation:
      Should you be interested in our offer, please contact us.
      Should you not wish our agent to call, please let us know.


      The more elaborate the construction with should and/or happen to, the more tactful a speaker is trying to be. Compare the sequence:
      If you see him fairly likely: neutral
      If you should see him
      Should you see him |
      If you happen to see him |
      If you should happen to see him
      Should you happen to see him
      Should you by any chance happen to see him
      unlikely: very tactful

    2. 'If it were not for/Were it not for' (Not *was*)
      This expression explains why something has or hasn't happened:
      If it weren't for your help, I would still be homeless.
      In formal contexts, If it were not for can be expressed as Were it not for, with the negative in full (Not *Weren't it*):
      Were it not for your help, I would still be homeless.
      If it were not for and Were it not for are often followed by the fact that:
      Were it not for the fact that you helped me, I would be homeless.


    3. Type 2, Variation 3: 'If + were to/was to' + 'would', etc.
      'if'-clause: 'were to/was to' main clause: 'would/should', etc.
      condition to be satisfied likely outcome
      If < I/he/she it were to/was to ask, I/we would/should, etc.
      < you/we/they were to ask, he/she/it/you/they would, etc.

      Instead of an ordinary verb in the simple past, we can use were or was + to-infinitive in Type 2 conditional clauses:
      If I were to (or was to) ask, would you help me?
      Were to is more common than was to after I/he/she/it and makes a suggestion sound more tentative and polite. Compare:
      If I asked him, I'm sure he'd help us.
      - Do you think he would?
      Well, if I were to ask him nicely.

      Modals other than would and should are possible in the main clause:
      If you were to ask him, he might help you.
      If Sue were to make an effort, she could do better.


      The same kind of conditional can be expressed without if, if we begin a sentence with were (Not *was*). This kind of inversion is common only in very formal contexts:
      Were the government to cut Value Added Tax, prices would fall.

      There is no negative construction (Not *If he were not to*) but negative inversion is possible with the full form:
      There'd be a clear case for legal action over this matter were it not likely to make life difficult for all of us. (Not *weren't it*)

    4. Inversion with 'had' in Type 3 conditionals
      The form Had (he) is a formal variation of If (he) had:
      Had the management acted sooner, the strike wouldn't have happened.
      A negative inversion is possible with the full form:
      Had it not been for the unusually bad weather, the rescue party would have been able to save the stranded climber. (Not *Hadn't*)

  4. Notes on the use of punctuation marks

    1. Quotation marks (or 'inverted commas') go round what is actually spoken and enclose other punctuation marks such as commas (,) full stops (.), question marks (?) and exclamation marks (!). They may be single ('_'), or double ("_") and are placed high above the base-line at the beginning and end of each quotation:
      'Is that you, Jane?' Bob asked. "Is that you, Jane?" Bob asked.

    2. What is said, plus reporting verb and its subject, is considered as a whole unit. When the subject + reporting verb comes at the beginning of a sentence, the reporting verb is always followed by a comma (sometimes by a colon (:) in AmE) and the quotation begins with a capital letter:
      John said, 'It's good to see you.'
      When the subject + reporting verb comes after what is said, the quotation has a comma before the second quotation mark:
      'It's good to see you,' John said.
      But if the quotation ends with an exclamation mark or a question mark, a comma is not used as well:
      'Where can I get a taxi?' John asked.
      Subject + verb can come in the middle of a quotation-sentence:
      'Where, in this wretched town,' John asked, 'can I get a taxi?'
      The second part of the quotation does not begin with a capital letter because it is not a separate sentence.

    3. If there is a 'quote within a quote' (e.g. if we are quoting someone's exact words), we use a second set of quotation marks. If double quotation marks have been used on the 'outside', single ones are used on the 'inside' and vice versa. The inside quotation has its own punctuation, distinct from the rest of the sentence:
      Ann said, 'Just as I was leaving, a voice shouted, "Stop!".'
      'What do you mean, "Are you all right?"?' Ann asked.

      We can also use a second set of quotation marks when we mention the title of e.g. a book, film or play:
      'How long did it take you to read "War and Peace"?' I asked.
      However, this is often a matter of personal taste. In print, titles often appear in italics without quotation marks.

    4. Noun + reporting verb may be in subject + verb order or may be inverted (verb + subject):
      'This is a serious offence,' the judge said/said the judge.
      If the subject is a long one, then inversion is usual:
      'Where's this train going?' asked the lady sitting beside me.
      With a pronoun subject, inversion is rare in modern English:
      'This is a serious offence,' he said.
      Some reporting verbs, particularly those requiring an object, such as assure, inform and tell cannot be inverted.
      Adverbs of manner usually come at the end]:
      'Go away!' said Mr Tomkins/Mr Tomkins said angrily.

    5. Quotation marks are generally not required with reporting verbs such as ask oneself, think and wonder when they are used to describe 'direct thoughts' in 'free indirect speech']:
      So that was their little game, he thought.
      Where are they now, he wondered.

 

STUDY GUIDE

Reference:

  1. Rewrite the following sentences, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same.
    1. Tony was not only late, but he had left all his books behind.
      Not only ...
    2. I had no sooner gone to bed than someone rang my doorbell.
      No sooner ...
    3. I have seldom stayed in a worse hotel.
      Seldom ...
    4. I have never heard such nonsense.
      Never ...
    5. I realised only then that I had lost my keys.
      Only then ...
    6. The economic situation has rarely been worse.
      Rarely
    7. The manager not once offered us an apogy.
      Not once ...
    8. You should not send money to us by post under any circumstances.
      Under no circumstances ...
    9. I understood Hamlet only after seeing it on stage.
      Only after seeing ...
    10. The embassy staff little realised that Ted was a secret agent.
      Little ...

  2. Write new sentences with similar meaning using one of the following words or phrases.

    Barely, Had, In no way, Little, Never before, Only by, Only when, Rarely, Should, So eager, Such, Were

    1. If Mr Morgan were still head teacher, he would not permit such bad behaviour.
    2. I had never tasted such a wonderful combination of flavours before.
    3. Keith certainly can't be held responsible for the accident.
    4. It is very unusual for a military campaign to have been fought with so little loss of life.
    5. People were so ignorant of the disease at the time, that sufferers were simply told to go to bed and rest.
    6. If you should change your mind, there will always be a job for you here.
    7. The researchers only realised that they had made an error in their calculations when the findings had been published.
    8. Julia wanted so much to move away from Newtown that she sold her house for much less than it was worth.
    9. I Australia had been beaten, Taylor would certainly have resigned as captain.
    10. I didn't think that one day I'd be appearing in films rather than just watching them.
    11. He had only just walked into the house when the telephone rang.
    12. The archeologists had only discovered the secret chamber in the tomb by chance.

 

EXPRESSIONS

Make or Pull

  1. If there is an earthquake, you should make ___ the park.
    1. out
    2. up
    3. for

  2. It was so foggy that she couldn't make ___ the road ahead.
    1. out
    2. over
    3. up

  3. It took 20 years for them to make ___ after their fight.
    1. up
    2. over
    3. out

  4. The man made ___ with all her money.
    1. for
    2. off
    3. up

  5. I wish she wouldn't make ___ stories like that.
    1. for
    2. up
    3. over

  6. Can you help me pull ___ these boots?
    1. off
    2. our
    3. in

  7. The doctors think she can't pull ___ another heart attack.
    1. back
    2. through
    3. out

  8. I think I just saw dad's car pull ___ the driveway.
    1. into
    2. over
    3. by

  9. A famous man like him always pulls ___ the crowds.
    1. out
    2. over
    3. in

  10. The sun is so bright. Do you mind if I pull ___ the blinds.
    1. in
    2. over
    3. down

- key to Unit 28 -

 

Literature

Albee, Edward Franklin

Albee, Edward Franklin (1928- ), American playwright, whose most successful plays focus on familial relationships. He was born in Washington, D.C., and adopted as an infant by the American theater executive Reed A. Albee of the Keith-Albee chain of vaudeville and motion picture theaters. Albee attended a number of preparatory schools and, for a short time, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He wrote his first one-act play, The Zoo Story (1959), in three weeks. Among his other plays are the one-act The American Dream (1961); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962); The Ballad of the Sad Café (1963), adapted from a novel by the American author Carson McCullers; Tiny Alice (1964); and A Delicate Balance (1966), for which he won the 1967 Pulitzer Prize in drama. For Seascape (1975), which had only a brief Broadway run, Albee won his second Pulitzer Prize. His later works include The Lady from Dubuque (1977), an adaptation (1979) of Lolita by the Russian American novelist Vladimir Nabokov, and the Man With Three Arms (1983). In 1994 he received a third Pulitzer Prize for Three Tall Women (1991). Albee's early plays are marked by themes typical of the theater of the absurd, in which characters suffer from an inability or unwillingness to communicate meaningfully or to sympathize or empathize with one another.

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