CHOOSING THE WORD ORDER

When choosing one or another order of words, we primarily have to bear in mind what question is answered by the statement. Thus, for example, the sentence ‘John and Barbara were married on a sunny day in May’ answers the question ‘When was this couple married?”; the adverbial part, which is here the focus of information, should usually come last, as it bears the final logical stress. A different logical accent is represented in the variant ‘On a sunny day in May, John and Barbara were finally married’, which answers the question ‘What did they do on a sunny day?’, and, accordingly, the final part of the sentence is the predicate. If we now wish to focus our attention on the subject, thus answering the question ‘Who were married?”, we might say ‘On Monday were married John and Barbara, and on Tuesday – Peter and Nelly’. In this last variant we find the so called ‘inverted’ word order, in which the predicate stands before the subject.
Let us now practice these distinctions in short quizes (you will find the answers below).

Quiz 1. State what kind of question is answered by each of the following sentences:

(1) In the deep valley, at the foot of the hill lay a beautiful town; (2) The town lay in a deep valley, at the foot of the hill. (3) He walked down the hill slowly and carefully. (4) Slowly and carefully, he walked down the hill. (5) Down the hill, slowly and carefully, walked a tired old man.

Quiz 2. Find a suitable place for the words in brackets:

1. Soon everything was ready for the trip, and we arrived at the air-port (half an hour later). 2. The taxi did not come on time, and we arrived at the air-port (half an hour later). 3. Being a quiet man, he waited his turn (always, very patiently). 4. He queued up at the bus stop at the corner of the street (every morning, patiently). 5. It was getting dark and cold (outside). 6. Hurry up, I’ll wait for you (outside).

On the other hand, if we wish to lay the logical stress on an adverbial modifier, making it the ‘focus’ of a statement, we can place it at the very beginning of the sentence. In that case part of the predicate usually comes before the subject (we use the so called ‘partial inversion’), e.g. Not for a moment did she hesitate (had she hesitated) to accept the proposal.

Quiz 3. Use partial inversion to emphasise the words in bold type:

1. There has never been a conflict equal to this. 2. I had longed to do that many a time. 3. The enemy army had destroyed almost every town and village. 4. I never felt so peaceful anywhere else.
The emphasised part may be proceeded by the word ‘only’, with partial inversion following, e.g. Only after that did I fully realise the danger.

Quiz 4. Add ‘only’, placing the emphasised part at the beginning of the sentence:

1. Now, close up, I saw how young she was. 2. His wound troubles him when he is tired. 3. She agreed to all that because she pitied him. 4. We develop towards originality through imitation.
Likewise, the words ‘not only’ can be placed at the beginning for emphasis, e.g. Not only did he agree to help, but he also gave me some money in advance. Note that such structures allow of two negations, e.g. Not only did he not help me, but he refused even to speak on the subject.

Quiz 5. Paraphrase the following sentences, using ‘not only...’ at the beginning:

1. The owners were willing, even proud to show their homes to me. 2. The world has got nothing for these young men, moreover, it leaves them no room for participation.
When part of the predicate is emphasised, the whole of the predicate will be placed before the subject ( we use ‘full inversion’), e.g. Cold and fresh was the morning air.

Quiz 6. Emphasise the words in bold type:

1. He is blessed who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. 2. The night was so cold that I put on all my clothes over the pyjamas.
Note now constructions with the predicative part emphasised in clauses of cause and concession: Tired as he was, he fell asleep at once (= because he was tired); Tired though (as) he was, he did not go to bed (= although he was tired).

Quiz 7. Use emphatic inversion in the dependent clauses below:

1. As it was cold outside, they preferred to stay in all day. 2. Although the rumour was absurd, she believed it at once.
In conditional clauses the conjunction ‘if may be omitted, and then partial inversion is used. This variant is only possible when the predicate consists of two (or more) parts, as in Had we told him all that before, he would have been more prepared for the changes; Could you find me a more suitable residence, I should be very grateful. No inversion is possible with one-part predicates, as in If you lived closer, I would come to see you more often, except for the verbs ‘be’ and ‘have’ (e.g. Were I in your place, I’d behave differently; Had I more money on me, I’d buy this ring).

Quiz 8. Omit ‘if’ in the conditional clauses, where possible:

1. If you had tried harder, you could easily have won. 2. If I knew her address, I’d write to her. 3. If I could live away from the sea, I would certainly move to Montana. 4. If we had a little more time, we could go sightseeing. 5. If it starts raining, we’ll have to put off our trip. 6. If it should start raining, we’ll have to put off our trip.

By Professor Valery Gurevitch

Answers to the Quizes:

Quiz 1: 1. What lay in the valley? 2. Where did the town lie? 3. How did he walk? 4. What did he do (slowly and carefully)? 5. Who walked...?

Quiz 2: 1. ... and half an hour later we arrived at the airport; 2. ... and we arrived at the air-port half an hour later; 3. ... he always waited his turn very pariently; 4. Every morning he patiently queued up...; 5. Outside it was getting dark; 6. I’ll wait for you outside.

Quiz 3: 1. Never has there been a conflict...; 2. Many a time had I longed...; 3. Almost every town and village had the enemy army destroyed; 4. Nowhere else did ever I feel...

Quiz 4: 1. Only now, close up, did I see...; 2. Only when he is tired does his wound trouble him; 3. Only because she pitied him did she agree...; 4. Only through imitation do we develop...

Quiz 5:1. Not only willing, but even proud were the owners... ( or: Not only were the owners willing, but they were even proud...); 2. Not only has the world got nothing... but...

Quiz 6: 1. Blessed is he who...; 2. So cold was the night that...

Quiz 7: 1. Cold as it was...; 2. Absurd as (though) the rumour was...

Quiz 8: 1. Had you tried harder...; 2. If I knew...; 3. Could I live...; 4. Had we a little more time...; 5. If it starts raining...; 6. Should it start raining...