Inversion/ adding emphasis

Emphasis using negative introductory expressions

The following expressions can be placed first in a sentence for emphasis. The subject and verb are then inverted.
We use do/does/did if there is no auxiliary.

• little, never, rarely, scarcely:

Never have I seen so many people.

Little did we know that he had followed us.

• no sooner ... than, barely/hardly ... when:

No sooner had he got the job than he asked for a pay rise.
Hardly had I got through the door when the phone rang.

• at no time, under no circumstances, on no account, no way (informal):

Under no circumstances should you let anyone in.

• not since, not for, not a (person/thing), not only ... (but also):

Not since the 90s has he written such a superb novel.
Not a soul did we see on our journey.

Not only do they want a pay increase, they (also) want reduced hours.

• only + time expression or prepositional phrase:

Only now / after all these years has the crime been solved.
Only when I got to the airport did I realise I had forgotten my passport.

B Emphasis through 'fronting' parts of the sentence

'Fronting' involves moving elements of a sentence to the front in order to:

• start with the most important information;

• provide an emphatic contrast with the previous sentence;

• provide a link with what came before by putting known information at the front of the sentence.

Note
In order to avoid ending a clause or sentence with be as a result of fronting, we normally invert the subject and verb.

1 Fronting the object or complement

I don't know what we're going to do. -+ What we're going to do I don't know.
It took me ages to finish that assignment! -+ Ages it took me to finish that assignment!
I don't believe that. -+ That I don't believe!

2 Fronting adverbials and verbs of place or movement (+ inversion)

And now we are in the market place.
Here stood the old Corn Exchange building. Opposite is the church.
We arrived at our camp. Then began the slow process of acclimatisation.
Into the room swaggered the Count.
Note
We don't invert the subject and verb:

• if the subject is a pronoun:
Here stands his statue. Here it stands. Here stands it.

• with time phrases
At eight o'clock went off the alarm clock.

3 Fronting comparative or superlative phrases, so, such (when not followed by a noun), also (+ inversion)

She has made five films to date. Her latest film is particularly good. -+ Particularly good is her latest film.

The storm was so terrible that the ship sank. -+ So terrible was the storm that the ship sank.

His financial position was such that his friends started to worry. -+ Such was his financial position that his friends started to worry.

The house loomed out of the darkness. Also visible were several dogs guarding the door.

4 Fronting as and though
Try as they might, they could not win the race.
Exhausted though he was, he stumbled on.