Introdução

Inversão envolve mudar a posição do sujeito e do verbo auxiliar ou modal.

Nós usamos inversão:

• Quando começamos uma frase com uma expressão adverbial negativa, uma expressão adverbial de lugar, ou simplesmente um advérbio
• Com: "only after", "only if", "only when", etc. colocados no início de uma frase para efeito retórico
• em frases condicionais sem "if"
• Para dar ênfase, geralmente parecendo mais formal.

Exemplos

• "Under no circumstances should you open the box."
  (You should not open the box.)
   
• "On the table were three old books."
  (Three old books were on the table.)
   
• "Hardly had I entered the room when the orchestra began to play."
  (I had hardly entered the room when the orchestra began to play.)
   
• "Only when it started raining did he give me the umbrella."*
  (He gave me the umbrella only when it started raining.)
   

* Observe que a inversão ocorre na cláusula principal, depois de expressões como only after, only if, only when.

Outros exemplos

• "Had I gone to university, I might have been a doctor."
  (If I had gone to university, I might have been a doctor.)
   
• "Had I not gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor."
  (If I hadn’t gone to university, I wouldn’t have been a doctor.)
   
• "Had you gone to university, would you have been a doctor?"
  (If you had gone to university, would you have been a doctor?)

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Algumas expressões adverbiais negativas comuns

• Never (before), Rarely, Seldom…
• Under no circumstances…
• Hardly, Scarcely …when…
• No sooner…than…
• Little…
• In no way…
• Not only…but…
• On no account…
• At no time…

Exemplos

• As soon as I arrived, the music started.
  "No sooner did I arrive than the music started."
   
• You mustn’t have the music too loud.
  "On no account must you have the music too loud." *
   
• He’d never seen anything like it before.
  "Never before had he seen anything like it." *
   
• I’d never seen the film.
  "At no time had I (ever) seen the film." *

* Observe que um verbo negativo se transforma em um verbo positivo ao seguir uma expressão adverbial negativa.

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Pratique

Transforme as seguintes frases:

.

1)

You mustn't let the dog off its lead.
Under no circumstances    the dog off its lead.

 

2)

She had never been there.
At no time    there.

 

3)

I am hardly ever late for work.
Rarely    late for work.

 

4)

This is not acceptable.
In no way    acceptable.

 

Please submit the missing answers shown in red
 

Submit

Pratique ainda mais

Escolha a opção correta a, b, c ou d:
.

1)

Seldom ____ on holiday as children.
 

we did go

went we

we went

did we go

 

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2)

Scarcely ____ the house when it started to rain.
 

they hadn't left

they left

they had left

had they left

 

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3)

____ more hard-working, she would have a job.
 

If were she

She was

She were

Were she

 

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4)

Out in the garden ____.
 

birds aren't

are birds

are there birds

birds are

 

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5)

On no account ____ the phone.
 

you shouldn't answer

answer you

should you answer

you should answer

 

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6)

Not only ____ but he was rude as well.
 

was he late

late was he

he wasn't late

he was late

 

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Please submit the missing answers shown in red
 

Submit