Alberto de Sar: Hi, People!!: abril 2019

Here is a review of some grammar for advanced level. There is a short explanation and a link with exercises.

INVERSION

Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. To invert a sentence move the adverbial to the beginning of the sentence and invert the subject and auxiliary verb: 'I had never met someone so interesting.' becomes 'Never had I met someone so interesting.'

We usually make inversions with negative adverbs. Here are some negative adverbs and adverb phrases that we often use with inversion:

Hardly	Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.
Never	Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.
Seldom	Seldom do we see such an amazing display of dance.
Rarely	Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.
Only then	Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.
Not only ... but	Not only does he love chocolate and sweets but he also smokes.
No sooner	No sooner had we arrived home than the police rang the doorbell.
Scarcely	Scarcely had I got off the bus when it crashed into the back of a car.
Only later	Only later did she really think about the situation.
Nowhere	Nowhere have I ever had such bad service.
Little	Little did he know!
Only in this way	Only in this way could John earn enough money to survive.
In no way	In no way do I agree with what you're saying.
On no account	On no account should you do anything without asking me first.

You can try inversion here

CLEFT SENTENCES

We use cleft sentences, to connect what is already understood to what is new to the listener. In a cleft sentence, a single message is divided (cleft) into two clauses. This allows us to focus on the new information.

IT CLEFT SENTENCES are the most common type of cleft clause. The information that comes after it is emphasised for the listener. The clause which follows the it-clause is connected using that and it contains information that is already understood. We often omit that in informal situations when it is the object of the verb:

A: Sharon’s car got broken into yesterday, did it?

B: No. It was Nina’s car that got broken into!

WH- CLEFT SENTENCES are most often introduced by what, but we can also use why, where, how, etc. The information in the wh-clause is typically old or understood information, while the information in the following clause is new and in focus:

A: I don’t know what to cook for them? I don’t know what they like.

B: What they like is smoked salmon.

You can try cleft sentences here

WISHES AND REGRETS: “I wish, If only, It’s time, It’s high time”

A.- Use of I wish / if only:

There are three distinct types of I wish / if only sentences:

1. Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.

2. Regret with the past perfect.

3. Complaints with would + verb.

1.- Expressing a wish:

Form: If only / I wish + simple past

Use:

-To express a wish in the present or in the future.

-The simple past here is an unreal past.

-When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.

Example: If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it)

2.- Expressing regret:

Form: If only / I wish + past perfect

Use:

-To express a regret.

-The action is past.

Example: If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)

3.- Complaining:

Form: I wish / if only + would + verb

Use:

-To complain about a behavior that you disapprove.

-Expressing impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.

Example: I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time)

B.- It’s time / It’s high time

Form: It’s (high) time + past simple

Use: -When someone should have already done something

Example: It’s (high) time the government took measures about the problem (It hasn’t taken measures, and it’s urgent)

You can practise wishes and regrets here

REPORTING PASSIVES: news reporters often use phrases like: "It is believed that..." and "The suspect is known to be..." These structures are called passive reporting structures.

Meaning and use: This structure is used to report information in a formal style or to report facts. Passive structures hide the source of the information. This is because a) it is obvious b) the source is unimportant or is 'people in general', or c) the source is unknown.

Common verbs used with these structures: say, think, expect, know, believe, understand, consider

Form: A passive reporting structure can take two forms:

1.- It + passive reporting verb + that-clause