Inversion Exercise & Practice with Explanation

1. Rarely _______ anyone using typewriters now-a-days.

you see	will you see
you will see	you have seen
Correct Answer: will you see
Explanation: This sentence is an example of inversion. For ‘inverted’ sentences, the sentence structure is changed: ‘auxiliary verb + subject + main verb’.

2. ________ received law degrees as today.

Never so many women have	Never have so many women
The women aren’t ever	Women who have never
Correct Answer: Never have so many women
Explanation: Sentences started with ‘never’ are considered as inversions. The structure for such kind of sentence is ‘auxiliary verb + subject + main verb’.

3. _______ but also it filters out harmful rays.

The environment gives us air to breathe	Not only the environment gives us air to breathe
The environment which gives us air to breathe	Not only does the environment give us air to breathe
Correct Answer: Not only does the environment give us air to breathe
Explanation: Sentences started with ‘Not only………but also’ adverbials are treated as inversions. The ‘inverted’ sentences follow the structure: ‘auxiliary verb/do/did/does + subject +base form of the main verb’.

4. _______ have goods returned to us because they are faulty.

Seldom we do	Seldom do we
Rarely we	Hardly we
Correct Answer: Seldom do we
Explanation: If a sentence contains ‘Seldom’ at the beginning, it is considered as an ‘inverted’ sentence. As per rules of inversion, the auxiliary verb or do verb comes before the main verb and the subject remains in the middle between the verbs.

5. Hardly _______ entered the office when he realized that he had forgotten his wallet.

he had	he was
had he	did he
Correct Answer: had he
Explanation: Sentences with ‘Hardly’ at the beginning are known as ‘Inversion’. In this kind of sentence, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject and the main verb follows the subject.

6. _______ did Jonathan realize that there was a danger.

Upon entering the store	When he entered the store
After he has entered the store	Only after entering the store
Correct Answer: Only after entering the store
Explanation: If ‘only after’ comes at the beginning of a sentence, then the principal clause of the sentence will be in ‘Inversion’.

7. Complete the sentence: Only after the food has been dried or canned_______.

that it should be stored for later consumption	should be stored for later consumption
should it be stored for later consumption	it should be stored for later consumption
Correct Answer: should it be stored for later consumption
Explanation: If ‘only after’ comes at the beginning of a sentence, then the principal clause of the sentence will be an ‘Inversion’. The altered sentence structure will be: auxiliary verb/do/did/does + subject +base form of the main verb’.

8. _______ resigned, we would have been forced to sack him.

Had he not	He had
Had he	If he has not
Correct Answer: Had he not
Explanation: This is an example of ‘Inversion with Conditional’. For such ‘inverted’ sentence, the conditional ‘if’ is omitted from the sentence and auxiliary verb comes at the beginning and past participle form of the main verb goes after the subject.

9. Times have changed and so_______.

we have	we are are
have we	are we
Correct Answer: have we
Explanation: When a statement is second by another person in the same sentence, the second part of the sentence will be an inversion. The structure for such ‘Inversion’ will be ‘so+ verb+ subject’.

10. He didn’t know the answer, and_______.

Neither can’t I	So can’t I
Neither can I	So can I
Correct Answer: So can’t I
Explanation: Statement that needs to negate with one part with another, ‘inverted sentence’ structure ‘either/neither’ is used. The structure for sentence with ‘neither’ will be ‘Neither + auxiliary + subject’.

11. Mendes can’t type well, her sister_______.

can either	neither can
either can’t	can’t either
Correct Answer: can’t either
Explanation: Statement that needs to negate with one part with another, ‘inverted sentence’ structure ‘either/neither’ is used. The structure for sentences with ‘either’ is ‘Subject + negative auxiliary + either’.

12. Sweet _______ the uses of adversity.

is	are
has	was
Correct Answer: are
Explanation: If an adjective comes at the beginning of a sentence, the sentence will be in Inversion. In this sentence, sweet is an adjective and the subject is in plural form. So, are will be used instead of is.

13. Never _______ such a heinous crime.

he has committed	has he done
he has done	has he committed
Correct Answer: has he committed
Explanation: As per rules of Inversion of Verb, Never will always be followed by the ‘verb’. And for ‘crime’, ‘commit’ will be used as the verb.

14. My friend doesn’t like fish and _______.

neither I do	neither do I
I do	I do either
Correct Answer: neither do I
Explanation: Neither/either has many uses. This is an example of Negative Agreement. The structure for such sentences: Negative statement + and + neither + positive auxiliary or be + subject.

15. Pioneer men and women endured terrible hardships, and _______.

so do their children	neither did the children
so did their children	so the children did
Correct Answer: so did their children
Explanation: In English grammar, there are certain ways to repeat the first idea with the same meaningful second one. ‘So…..do/did/does’ is one of them and it incorporates with the ‘inversion’ structure of grammar. The structure is ‘so+ verb+ subject’.

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