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Inversion

The document discusses the use of inversion in formal and literary English to replace 'if' in conditional and subjunctive sentences, enhancing elegance and emphasis. It provides examples of inverted conditionals for both present and past hypotheticals, as well as formal expressions. Additionally, it includes practice exercises to reinforce the concept of inversion.

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18 views9 pages

Inversion

The document discusses the use of inversion in formal and literary English to replace 'if' in conditional and subjunctive sentences, enhancing elegance and emphasis. It provides examples of inverted conditionals for both present and past hypotheticals, as well as formal expressions. Additionally, it includes practice exercises to reinforce the concept of inversion.

Uploaded by

lira160172
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Inversion

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 1


Inversion in Unreal and Subjunctive Structures
• In formal or literary English, we can invert the subject
and auxiliary verb to replace "if" in conditional and
subjunctive sentences.
• This makes the sentence more elegant and emphatic.

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 2


Inverted Conditionals (Unreal Past & Present)
Second Conditional (Present/Future Hypothetical)
• Without inversion: If she were here, she would help.
• With inversion: Were she here, she would help.
Third Conditional (Past Hypothetical)
• Without inversion: If he had studied, he would have
passed.
• With inversion: Had he studied, he would have
passed.
Tr. Phyo Su Khin 3
Inversion with ‘Were’ and ‘Had’
If it were not so cold, we would go outside.
Were it not so cold, we would go outside.
• If they had trained harder, they would have won.
Had they trained harder, they would have won.

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 4


Inversion in Formal Expressions
• If it were not for… → Were it not for…
• If it were not for his advice, I would be lost.
• Were it not for his advice, I would be lost.
• If it hadn’t been for… → Had it not been for…
• If it hadn’t been for the traffic, I would have arrived
earlier.
• Had it not been for the traffic, I would have arrived
earlier.

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 5


Practice Exercises

• Pg 80,81

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 6


Review Exercises
1.Rewrite using inversion:
1.If I had known, I would have told you.
2.If she were in charge, things would be different.
2.Complete using inversion:
1._____ it not for your help, I wouldn’t have
succeeded.
2._____ he studied more, he would pass the test.

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 7


Summary
• Inversion replaces "if" for emphasis.

• Common forms: "Were + subject", "Had +


subject".

• Used in formal, literary, and academic English.

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 8


This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Tr. Phyo Su Khin 9

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