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Word order: no subject - verb inversion
When we learn a foreign language, it's often a temptation - hateful, but humane - to imitate your
own language and copy and guess the constructions of the unknown language and try to use the
constructions that are well known...
There are some particularly treacherous structures for French-speaking learners because they use
the 'normal' construction without inverting (the construction is subject + verb) whereas the French
construction is inverted (verb+ subject).
This shows - if necessary - that you must never think in your own language in order to learn English
as a foreign language.
THERE ARE NO SUBJECT/ VERB INVERSIONS IN THE FOLLOWING CASES:
1) In indirect subordinate clauses introduced by WHAT, HOW, WHERE, WHAT TIME...: NO INVERSION.
- What your friend said is true.
- He likes how English people live.
2) After relative pronouns and 'where' (used as a relative) : NO INVERSION.
- The cakes that Mollie makes are delicious.
- It isn't the place where my car is parked.
3) After SEE, HEAR, LET, MAKE + noun/ pronoun+ infinitive: NO INVERSION.
- I saw the postman come in.
- She made everybody work with passion.
4) After PERHAPS, MAYBE: NO INVERSION.
- Perhaps she will come.
5) In incidental clauses (she said/ they asked/ they didn't answer...) : NO INVERSION.
- 'No', they answered, 'we can't accept that.'
Here are the 'general cases' that alas, you often tend to treat like 'special cases'. No INVERSION
IN THESE CASES. Try to remember it! Come on! The test is quite easy... Go for it!
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