QUESTION WORDS: INVERTING THE SUBJECT AND VERB (What, when, where, why, how) In a sentence, these words

ds can have two very different functions: 1- The first function: they can introduce a question. In this case, the subject and verb that are following them are inverted.

E.g. What is your problem? E.g. When can Mona go? E.g. Where is Jack going?
2- The second function: these words can also join together two clauses. In this case, the

subject and verb that are following are not inverted. E.g. I know what your problem is. E.g. When Mona can go, Mona will take the bus to the airport. E.g. Do you know where Jack is going?

INVERTING THE SUBJECT AND VERB WITH PLACE EXPRESSIONS In English, the subject and the verb sometimes can be inverted. This could be happened with single words expressing place (here, there, or nowhere.) e.g. Here is the book that you lent me. e.g. There are the keys that I thought I lost. e.g. Nowhere have I seen such beautiful weather. The subject and verb can also be inverted after prepositional phrases expressing place. Look at the example below: e.g. In the closet are the clothes that you want. e.g. Around the corner is Sams house. e.g. Beyond the mountains lies the town where you will live.

Remark: the subject and verb will invert after place expressions at the beginning of a
sentence only when the place expression is necessary to complete the sentence. e.g. In the forest are many exotic birds. e.g. In the forest I walked for many hours.

INVERT THE SUBJECT AND VERB WITH NEGATIVES The subject and verb are inverted when negative expressions (no, not, or never) come at the beginning of a sentence Not once did Freddy make a problem. Never has Mrs. Allen made a problem. At no time can the kid talk on the phone. There are some words that act like negatives in English like (hardly, barely, scarcely, and only.) - If one of these words comes at the beginning of a sentence, the subject and verb are also inverted.

1. 2. 3.

e.g. Hardly ever does my girlfriend takes time off. (This means that my girlfriend almost never takes time off.) e.g.Only once did Jones issue overtime paychecks. (This means that Jones almost never issued overtime paychecks.)

The subject and verb are also can be inverted when a negative expression appears in front of a subject and verb in the middle of a sentence. Sometimes, this happens with the negative words (neither and nor.) Look at the example below: e.g. Sally does not want to go, and neither does Jack. e.g. My wife is not joining the party, nor is my step sister. INVERTING THE SUBJECT AND VERB WITH CONDITIONALS Sometimes, the subject and verb may also be inverted In various conditional structures. It can take place when the helping verb in the conditional clause is had, should, or were, and the conditional connector (if) is omitted. 1. If he had taken more time, the results would have been better. Had he taken more time, the results would have been better. I would help you if I were in a position to help. I would help you were I in a position to help. If you should arrive before 6:00, just give me a call. Should you arrive before 6:00, just give me a call.

2.

3.

INVERTING THE SUBJECT AND VERB WITH COMPARISONS

Fred spends more hours in the school than Jack. Fred spends more hours in the school than Jack does. Fred spends more hours in the school than does Jack. Whole examples above contain the comparison more . . . than. So, the question is: Are these patterns right in English? The answer is: Yes. All three examples below are correct in English. It is possible to have the noun Jack alone, like in the first example. It is also possible that the comparison is followed by the subject and verb Jack does, like in the second example. It is also possible that the comparison is followed by the inverted subject and verb does Jack, like in the third example.