Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1Only after the auditors had verified every figure ............... the revised budget.
Wrong!
After "Only after" plus a time clause at the front, use inversion in the main clause, so the correct answer is "did the committee approve".
2Under no circumstances ............... a refund once the personalised tickets have been printed.
Wrong!
After the fronted negative adverbial "Under no circumstances", the auxiliary comes before the subject, so the correct answer is "can applicants request".
3Rarely ............... on rumours before the regulator has issued a formal statement.
Wrong!
When "Rarely" begins a clause, use auxiliary-subject inversion, so the correct answer is "does the chief executive comment".
4Not until the final trial had been completed ............... the flaw in the original data set.
Wrong!
After fronted "Not until", the main clause takes inversion, so the correct answer is "did the researchers discover".
5Seldom ............... the tension between scientific caution and public impatience so vividly.
Wrong!
A fronted negative-frequency adverb such as "Seldom" requires inversion, so the correct answer is "has a documentary captured".
6Nowhere ............... than in the contrast between the glossy proposal and the neglected workshop floor.
Wrong!
With negative place expressions such as "Nowhere" at the front, the verb comes before the subject, so the correct answer is "is this more apparent".
7Little ............... how quickly a minor wording change would undermine months of careful diplomacy.
Wrong!
When "Little" means "not at all" and is fronted, the main clause uses inversion, so the correct answer is "did the negotiators realise".
8Neither ............... before the new booking system went live.
Wrong!
After fronted "Neither", both coordinated clauses take inversion, so the correct answer is "had the software been tested, nor had the staff been trained".
9No sooner ............... her prepared remarks than reporters began pressing her about the leaked memo.
Wrong!
The structure is "No sooner had + subject + past participle ... than", so the correct answer is "had the minister finished".
10Hardly ............... the platform when the first complaints about overcrowding appeared online.
Wrong!
Use inversion after "Hardly" in the pattern "Hardly had ... when", so the correct answer is "had the train left".
11Only by publishing the raw results ............... confidence among the independent analysts who questioned its methodology.
Wrong!
After fronted "Only by", the main clause uses inversion, so the correct answer is "can the firm restore".
12At no point during the evacuation ............... that the temporary bridge had failed its final safety inspection.
Wrong!
After the fronted negative adverbial "At no point", use inversion, so the correct answer is "were the residents informed".
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- Only after the auditors had verified every figure did the committee approve the revised budget.
- Under no circumstances can applicants request a refund once the personalised tickets have been printed.
- Rarely does the chief executive comment on rumours before the regulator has issued a formal statement.
- Not until the final trial had been completed did the researchers discover the flaw in the original data set.
- Seldom has a documentary captured the tension between scientific caution and public impatience so vividly.
- Nowhere is this more apparent than in the contrast between the glossy proposal and the neglected workshop floor.
- Little did the negotiators realise how quickly a minor wording change would undermine months of careful diplomacy.
- Neither had the software been tested, nor had the staff been trained before the new booking system went live.
- No sooner had the minister finished her prepared remarks than reporters began pressing her about the leaked memo.
- Hardly had the train left the platform when the first complaints about overcrowding appeared online.
- Only by publishing the raw results can the firm restore confidence among the independent analysts who questioned its methodology.
- At no point during the evacuation were the residents informed that the temporary bridge had failed its final safety inspection.