Choose the one completion that makes each sentence grammatically and contextually correct.
1Only after the audit had been completed ............... that several safeguards had been bypassed.
Wrong!
The fronted restrictive phrase "Only after" requires subject–auxiliary inversion in the main clause, so "did the board discover" is correct.
2Rarely ............... such a meticulously documented account of the negotiations.
Wrong!
A fronted negative-frequency adverbial triggers inversion, making "have researchers encountered" correct.
3Under no circumstances ............... without the participants’ written consent.
Wrong!
The fronted negative phrase "Under no circumstances" requires inversion, so "should the data be released" is correct.
4Little ............... that the apparently minor omission would invalidate the entire application.
Wrong!
Fronted "Little" meaning ‘not at all’ triggers inversion, so the correct form is "did the committee suspect".
5Only by reconciling the two datasets ............... with any confidence.
Wrong!
The fronted restrictive means phrase "Only by" requires inversion in the main clause, making "can the discrepancy be explained" correct.
6Not only ............... the policy, but she also dismissed the concerns raised by local authorities.
Wrong!
When fronted "Not only" introduces the first coordinated clause, it triggers inversion; therefore, "did the minister defend" is correct.
7............... that even the most sceptical members accepted the conclusion.
Wrong!
The emphatic result pattern is "So + adjective + be + subject + that", so "So compelling was the evidence presented at the hearing" is correct.
8............... to the rail network that several towns were cut off for days.
Wrong!
The emphatic result construction uses "Such + be + noun phrase + that", making "Such was the disruption" correct.
9............... than delegates began challenging the assumptions behind it.
Wrong!
The correlative pattern "No sooner ... than" requires inversion after the fronted negative expression, so "No sooner had the briefing begun" is correct.
10Nowhere in the report ............... for excluding the alternative proposal.
Wrong!
Fronted negative-location "Nowhere" triggers subject–verb inversion, making "is there a rationale" correct.
11Not since the 1990s ............... a drought of comparable severity.
Wrong!
The fronted negative time expression "Not since the 1990s" requires inversion, so "has the region experienced" is correct.
12............... the conflict of interest before the vote, the board would have commissioned an independent review.
Wrong!
The past counterfactual result "would have commissioned" requires an inverted past-perfect condition, so "Had the chair disclosed" is correct.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- Only after the audit had been completed did the board discover that several safeguards had been bypassed.
- Rarely have researchers encountered such a meticulously documented account of the negotiations.
- Under no circumstances should the data be released without the participants’ written consent.
- Little did the committee suspect that the apparently minor omission would invalidate the entire application.
- Only by reconciling the two datasets can the discrepancy be explained with any confidence.
- Not only did the minister defend the policy, but she also dismissed the concerns raised by local authorities.
- So compelling was the evidence presented at the hearing that even the most sceptical members accepted the conclusion.
- Such was the disruption to the rail network that several towns were cut off for days.
- No sooner had the briefing begun than delegates began challenging the assumptions behind it.
- Nowhere in the report is there a rationale for excluding the alternative proposal.
- Not since the 1990s has the region experienced a drought of comparable severity.
- Had the chair disclosed the conflict of interest before the vote, the board would have commissioned an independent review.