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INVERSION  

336

Inversion after negative adjuncts 

336a

Adjuncts of negative meaning (including negative frequency) which are normally

found in mid position cause the subject and modal/auxiliary verb (or copular 

verb be) to be inverted when they are used in front position. This is normally a

feature only of very formal and literary styles, but does occasionally occur in

conversation:

Never

could she understand

how he cared.

Rarely

did anyone declare

the true size of his property.

Not only

is it

a remarkable book, it is also a highly successful one.

Not one day this week

have I been able

to do any work on it. 

(conversation) 

Other expressions of this type include:

(*in contexts such as: Little did I realise that I was being deceived.)