Inversion Exercises PDFSet 2: Only Expressions & Correlative Structures
20 questions·15 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1.Only after the meeting ___ the real problem.
a) we understoodb) did we understandc) we did understandd) understanding we
2.Not only ___ fluent in French, but she also speaks Japanese.
a) is sheb) she isc) she doesd) does she
3.No sooner ___ the house than it started to rain.
a) they leftb) they had leftc) had they leftd) did they leave
4.Only when the sun set ___ how late it was.
a) they realisedb) they did realisec) realising theyd) did they realise
5.Hardly ___ speaking when the audience started clapping.
a) she finishedb) had she finishedc) she had finishedd) did she finish
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.did we understand
2.is she
3.had they left
4.did they realise
5.had she finished
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."did we understand"(b)
When 'Only after...' begins a sentence, the main clause that follows needs inversion: 'Only after the meeting did we understand...' Use 'did' + base form for past simple inversion.
2."is she"(a)
When 'Not only' starts the sentence, the first clause needs inversion: 'Not only is she fluent...' The auxiliary 'is' moves before the subject 'she'. The second clause ('but she also...') keeps normal word order.
3."had they left"(c)
'No sooner...than' uses past perfect inversion: 'No sooner had they left the house than it started to rain.' The earlier event takes past perfect; the later event takes past simple.
4."did they realise"(d)
'Only when...' at the front triggers inversion in the main clause: 'Only when the sun set did they realise...' Note: the inversion happens in the main clause, not the 'when' clause.
5."had she finished"(b)
'Hardly...when' uses past perfect inversion: 'Hardly had she finished speaking when the audience started clapping.' The first action (finishing) takes past perfect; the second (clapping) takes past simple.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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