A Study On English Inversion In Comparison With Vietnamese Inversion.pdf

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

SINH VIÊN: NGUYỄN THỊ NHUNG
MÃ SV: 1164010042

GRADUATION THESIS

THUYẾT MINH
A STUDY
ON ENGLISH
INVERSION
IN COMPARISON
ĐỀ CƯƠNG
KHĨA
LUẬN TỐT
NGHIỆP
ngành: KếINVERSION
tốn
WITHChun
VIETNAMESE
Mã số: 401

“Thực trạng và một số giải pháp hoàn thiện kế tốn Ngun vật liệu
Supervisor
: DR.Nguyen
Minh Long”
tại Cơng ty Cổ
phần Tư vấn
Đầu tư Xây Thanh
dựng Thăng

Student

: Nguyen Van Anh Nhat

Class

: K20 - FFL - HDU

Course

: 2017 - 2021

anh Hóa, tháng 04 năm 2015

Thanh Hoa, June 2021

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
During my graduation’s thesis, I had reached precious experience and
knowledge thank to teacher’s guidance, family’s care and friend’s cooperation. I
am very grateful to you for your help, precious experience and useful lessons,
which will support me in the future, especially my career. This graduation thesis
could not be finished without the invaluable help, advice, and encouragement
from teachers, especially Dr. Nguyễn Thanh Minh - my supervisor.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude Dr. Nguyễn
Thanh Minh – a joyful teacher who always instructs and supports me during the
time of doing graduation’s thesis. He always gives me warm gestures, helps and
supports in my graduation thesis. His support helps me finish my graduation

thesis well.
I also would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all
teachers in the Foreign Languages Department, as well as the management
board of Hong Duc University, for supporting me to complete this graduation
thesis. Thank you so much for your support and cooperation during my four
years.
Finally, I would like to express our gratitude to those whose names cannot
mention here one by one. May God bless them all.
Thanh Hoa, May 2021
Nhat

Nguyen Van Anh Nhat

ii


ABSTRACT
Inversion is one of the most difficult parts of English grammar as well as
Vietnamese one. There are many types of English and Vietnamese inversions.
However, the characteristics and the structures of inversion have been not fully
described to learners. Students are sometimes confused with the similarities and
differences between English and Vietnamese ones and often make errors.
Therefore, the study aims at pointing out some various types of English and
Vietnamese inversions. The most significant objective of the study is to find out
the similarities and differences between the two languages. From that, the study
will suggest some solutions for teaching and learning English inversion.
Moreover, some good exercises are suggested to help EFL learners practice
more at home and have deep understanding about inversion. The study has three
main parts. The first part consists of the rationale, the aims, the scope, the
methods, the tasks and the design of the research work. The second part includes

two chapters: the theoretical background relating to the overview of English and
Vietnamese inversions; the methodology of the research; explain the similarities
and differences between English and Vietnamese inversions. According to the
material analysis, the predictions on some students’ errors are indicated and the
appropriate solutions will be proposed. The third part summarizes what has been
done in the study and gives suggestions for further research.

iii


ABBREVIATIONS
EFL

English as a foreign language

ed.

Edition

CA

Contrastive analysis

p.

Page number

S

Subject

S1

The subject in the first clause

S2

The subject in the second clause

O

Object

C

Complement

V

Verb

OE

Old English

L2

Second language

A.N

Negative adverbial

Aonly

Adverbial beginning with only

Aplace

Adverbial of place

Op
Q-element
Q-word

Operator
Clause element containing the Q- word
Interrogative word

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iii
ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... v
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
1. Rationale............................................................................................................ 1
2. Research questions ............................................................................................ 2

3. Research objectives ........................................................................................... 2
4. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 2
5. Research method ............................................................................................... 3
6. Significance of the research .............................................................................. 3
7. Design of the study work .................................................................................. 3
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................... 5
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................ 5
1. An Overview of English and Vietnamese inversion ......................................... 5
1.1. Definition of inversion ................................................................................... 5
1.2. Word order. .................................................................................................... 6
1.3. Functions of inversion .................................................................................... 6
1.3.1. In written text .............................................................................................. 6
1.3.2. In spoken text .............................................................................................. 7
2. Inversion in English .......................................................................................... 7
2.1. Subject - Verb inversion................................................................................. 7
2.1.1. Inversion after adverbial expressions of place/time.................................... 7
2.1.2. Inversion in reporting sentences.................................................................. 8
2.1.3. Inversion after a predicate noun .................................................................. 9
2.1.4. Inversion after a predicate adjective ........................................................... 9
2.1.5. Inversion in formulae ................................................................................ 10
2.1.6. Journalistic style inversion ........................................................................ 10
2.2. Subject- Auxiliary verb inversion ................................................................ 10
v


2.2.1. Inversion in some types of questions ........................................................ 10
2.2.1.1. Inversion in Yes-No questions ............................................................... 10
2.2.1.2. Inversion in tag questions....................................................................... 11
2.2.1.3. Inversion in Wh-questions ..................................................................... 12
2.2.2. Inversion in exclamations ......................................................................... 12

2.2.3. Inversion in conditional sentences ............................................................ 13
2.2.4. Inversion after negative and restrictive adverbials ................................... 13
2.2.5. Inversion in comparative than, as clauses ................................................. 15
2.2.6. Inversion after so, such, neither, nor ......................................................... 15
3. Inversion in vietnamese................................................................................... 15
3.1. Inversion of predicate and subject................................................................ 15
3.1.1. Inversion of verb-predicate and subject .................................................... 15
3.1.2. Inversion of adjective-predicate and subject ............................................. 16
3.2. Other inverted elements of sentences in Vietnamese .................................. 16
3.2.1. Object-complement ................................................................................... 16
3.2.2. The predicating word- complement denoting manner .............................. 16
3.2.3. The word’s complement denoting manner................................................ 17
3.2.4. The sentential complement denoting reason ............................................. 17
3.2.5. The sentential complement denoting purpose........................................... 18
3.3. Inversion of predicating words..................................................................... 18
3.3.1. . Inversion with the existential meaning and onomatopoetic or pictographic
words. .................................................................................................................. 18
3.3.2. Inversion with the manifestation meaning and movement ....................... 19
3.4. Summary ...................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER TWO: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE INVERSION ................................................. 20
1. Rationale to choose contrastive analysis ......................................................... 20
2. Similarities between English and Vietnamese inversion ................................ 22
2.2. Similarities in definition ............................................................................... 22
2.2. Similarities in the different structures of inversion...................................... 22
vi


2.2.1. Subject – verb inversion ............................................................................ 22
2.2.1.1. Inversion with the initial “here” ............................................................. 22

2.2.1.1.1. “Here” plus “Be” ................................................................................. 22
2.2.1.1.2. “Here” plus other verbs ....................................................................... 23
2.2.1.2. Inversion with the initial “There” .......................................................... 24
2.2.1.2.1. “There” plus “Be” ............................................................................... 24
2.2.1.2.2. “There” plus other verbs ..................................................................... 24
2.2.1.3. Inversion in reported speech .................................................................. 26
2.2.1.4. Inversion in formula .............................................................................. 28
2.2.1.5. Inversion with initial adverbials (of place) .......................................... 28
2.2.1.5.1. Initial adverbials plus “be” ................................................................. 28
2.2.1.5.2. Initial adverbials plus verbs other than lexical be ............................... 29
2.2.2. Subject – Operator inversion ..................................................................... 30
2.2.2.1. Inversion in question .............................................................................. 30
2.2.2.1.1. Inversion in Yes - No questions .......................................................... 30
2.2.2.1.2. Inversion in Wh-questions .................................................................. 32
2.2.2.1.3. Inversion in alternative questions ....................................................... 35
2.2.2.2. Inversion in commands with question tags ............................................ 36
2.2.2.3. Inversion in exclamations ...................................................................... 37
2.2.2.4. Inversion in statements ........................................................................... 38
2.2.2.4.1. Inversion in statements with “If” ........................................................ 38
2.2.2.4.2. Inversion after “As” ............................................................................ 39
2.2.2.4.3. Inversion after “Neither, Nor”............................................................. 40
2.2.2.4.4. Inversion after “So”............................................................................. 41
2.2.2.4.5. Inversion after adverbials with initial “Only” ..................................... 41
2.2.2.4.6. Inversion in negative adverbials ......................................................... 43
2.2.2.4.6.1. Inversion after “Seldom, Rarely”, and “Never”............................... 43
2.2.2.4.6.2. Inversion after “Hardly, Scarcely”, and “No sooner” ...................... 44
2.2.2.4.6.3. Inversion after adverbials containing the word “No” ...................... 45
2.3. Similarities in the emphasized verb ............................................................. 47
vii

2.4. Similarities in the meaning of expression .................................................... 47
3. Differences between English and Vietnamese inversion ................................ 48
3.1. Difference in the structure ............................................................................ 48
3.3. Differences in the inverted elements of sentence ........................................ 49
3.4. Summary ...................................................................................................... 51
PART III: CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 52
1.1. Conclusions .................................................................................................. 52
1.2. Limitations and suggestions for further study.............................................. 53
1.2.1. Limitations ................................................................................................ 53
1.2.2. Suggestions for further studies .................................................................. 53
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 54

viii


PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In a cutting-edge science and technology era, along with the globalization
at present, English plays a particularly important role in international trade,
business, education, entertainment activities and in almost all aspects of daily
life. It becomes a bridge among countries and is considered useful means of
communication to further relationships and create more mutual understanding
among all the peoples around the world. Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech& Svartvik
(1985) found “English is generally acknowledged to be the world’s most
important language”. Furthermore, English is used as an official language of
many international companies or organizations to exchange information with
members from other countries. And many countries in the world also speak
English as a second language such as Singapore, France... In Vietnam, English
has been a compulsory subject in high schools, colleges, universities and for

every major for many years. Besides, Vietnamese students gradually have the
awareness of the importance of English and the necessities of learning English
to meet the needs of the society. However, learning English especially grammar
is very difficult for Vietnamese students and for students in English majors
particularly.
There is mounting evidence that English grammar is so complicated that
students are not able to master it easily. In learning English, grammar is
regarded as an important and necessary part. Thanks to grammar, students learn
about the structures of sentences, the verb tenses and many special theories.
From that, students accomplish exercises more easily and become accurate than
in the past. It can be seen that English grammar consists of so many items that
we have been learning for a long time. One of these items that students feel the
most difficult is English inversion. English becomes more interesting and
impressive with inversion although it is very complicated. Inversion in English
means the rearrangement of the constituents in the sentence in order to
emphasize the action or people which are mentioned in the context. In
1


Vietnamese, inversion is more popular in literature than other fields such as in
poems, short stories, novels and so on. In the process of learning English, some
Vietnamese students misunderstand about inversion and make mistakes. For
example, they write “Why you go to school late?” instead of “Why do you go to
school late?” The reason why Vietnamese learners construct the above sentence
is that they don’t know how word order in English is different from in
Vietnamese. However, mastering inversion is not easy for an L2 learner,
especially Vietnamese learners.
The comparison of inversion between English and Vietnamese plays a
significant role in learning and teaching English. It helps students to identify the
similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese inversion. From that, it

will support the EFL students in doing many kinds of exercises such as
translating, rewriting sentences and so on. There have been many authors who
are interested in comparing English and Vietnamese inversions. However, they
only pay attention to listing the type of inversions in the two languages or
distinguish them in brief. Therefore, with these purposes, the study “English
inversion in comparison to Vietnamese inversion.” is conducted.
2. Research questions
The study is conducted to answer the following questions:
- What are different kinds of inversion in English and in Vietnamese?
- What are the similarities and differences between English inversion
and Vietnamese one?
3. Research objectives
The study’s aims are:
- The study to get a fuller understanding of English inversion
- Comparing English and Vietnamese inversions.
- Understanding more about the Vietnamese one.
4. Scope of the study
English grammar is various. In this study, I pay attention not only to
inversion in sentences but also to that in discourse. Inversion is a key matter to
2


be used to a great extent not only by speakers but also by writers. It works
mainly within the sentence, so the sentence structure is very important.
This study is carried out carefully and deeply as I hope it can reflect and cover
some common phenomena of inversion in English. In spite of this fact, due to
my lack of time, experience and knowledge, this study can not fail to have
mistakes.
5. Research method
This study’s main method is contrastive analysis to analyze the

similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese inversions on the
aspects of forms and uses in theory by giving examples. This method is also
applied by many researchers like: Nguyen (1996) and other authors.
Firstly, the overview of word order in English and Vietnamese was
introduced. Secondly, the research describes the definition, some types of
English and Vietnamese inversion and when to employ the inversion. Then I
make comparisons of similarities and differences of inversion in two languages.
6. Significance of the research
Inversion is the beauty of English and is one of the most important and
difficult part of English grammar. But to master it is not easy for EFL learners
especially students that don’t have an English knowledge background. By
making it clearer for students, it helps them to learn English much more
correctly. With these purposes, the study is aimed to explain the types of English
and Vietnamese inversion in detail for students so as to support them in not
misunderstanding the word orders in Vietnamese and English. From that, they
will recognize the differences and then they will be able to reduce more errors in
their understanding of inversion theory. Furthermore, the thesis will be useful
for promoting other studies in the future. And it will become an effective
reference for teachers and students particularly EFL learners.
7. Design of the study work
The research consists of three main parts: Introduction, Development and
Conclusion. Part one gives the reason for choosing the topic, objectives, tasks
3


and the method of the study. It also contains the scope of the study and briefly
gives an overall outline of the research. Part two includes two chapters. Chapter
one is a Theoretical background presenting literature review and the overview of
word order and inversion in English and Vietnamese: definition, classification
and some special cases of inversion. Chapter two is Methodology describing in

detail the research methodology and another is Similarities and Differences
between English and Vietnamese inversion comparing and contrasting the
English inversion and Vietnamese one. It also predicts some errors which
students often make in learning English inversion; gives some suggestions of
learning and teaching inversion and suggests good types of exercises for EFL
learners. It is a prominent part of the study. Part three is about the conclusion of
the research. It summarizes the content of the research.

4


PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. An Overview of English and Vietnamese inversion
1.1. Definition of inversion
According to Schmidt (1980:4), inversion is defined as “the sentential
surface structure word order in which the verb of the sentence precedes the
subject of the sentence.”
Besides, Hewings (2005) also gives his own view that in statements, the
subject stands in front of the verb, which is very common. But in some cases,
the verb appears in the first place of the sentence and the order is reversed. It is
called inversion.
In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (8thed.), inversion is defined as:
“Inversion is the act of changing the position or order of something to its
opposite or of turning something upside down.”
As Dinh Trong Lac (1997:257) claims: “Inversion is the phenomenon of
violating the standard order of speech elements with the aim of separating a
certain meaning or emotional element.”
Swan (2005) divides English inversion into two main kinds:
•

Inversion (1): auxiliary verb before subject: it means putting an auxiliary

verb (and non-auxiliary have & be) before the subject of clause.
•

Inversion (2): whole verb before subject: we put an adverbial expression

of place or direct at the beginning of a clause. This case is popular in literary and
descriptive writing.
For example:
- Have you got a new computer?
- Here comes the bus.
- What is your name?
5


1.2. Word order.
Word order is a prominent part of English grammar. As Dorgeloh
(1997:13) claims that: “Word order most often refers to the order of the sentence
constituents, in fact, more precisely, to the order of sentence elements or
grammatical relations.”
For example:
I

like

flowers

S

V

O

He

is

a doctor

S

V

C

Mr. Dinh Tu (1983:336) states: “The order of sentence elements in
Vietnamese is a fundamental device to present the grammatical meaning in
general and the grammatical relations in particular.”
Anh ấy

tặng

tơi

một món q

S

V

O1

O2

Through the position of a word in a sentence, the reader can see its
grammatical function in relation to the other elements of the sentence.
In English, there are many functions of word order. It helps to express
grammatical relations and determine the status of a word. Moreover, it not only
makes prominent or emphatic that part of the sentence which is more
informative in the speaker’s opinion but also expresses continuity of thought in
sentences or in clauses that follow one another. Because Vietnamese is an
isolating and analytic language, word order plays an important role in showing
the grammatical relations and meanings. In both English and Vietnamese, word
order is also a grammatical device to reflect the relationship and meanings of
words
1.3. Functions of inversion
1.3.1. In written text
Hewings (2005:198) presents: “Inversion brings about fronting, the reordering of information in a sentence to give emphasis in a particular place.
6


Often this causes an element to be postponed until later in the sentence, focusing
attention on it.”
Whereas, Dinh (1997:257) gives his own point of view: “ Inversion is the
phenomenon of violating the standard order of speech elements with the aim of
separating a certain meaning or emotional element.” (Inversion is the
phenomenon of violating the standard order of speech elements with the aim of
separating a certain meaning or emotional element).

In conclusion, inversion also makes the sentences or texts more
impressive and focuses the readers’ attention on the emphasized parts or words
of the sentences. Thanks to this, the sentences will be able to increase the
nuances of meaning and be more colorful.
1.3.2. In spoken text
In speaking context, inversion helps listeners pay more attention to the
emphasized part which the speakers want to talk about and emphasize. Inversion
makes the intonation of the sentence change so that the listeners know what is
important in an utterance.
For example:
- "Only then did we go for lunch."
The importance of not going for lunch until an event had happened.
- "Had I known she was ill, I would have come."
The importance of knowing in advance that she was ill would have made a
difference.
2. Inversion in English
2.1. Subject - Verb inversion
2.1.1. Inversion after adverbial expressions of place/time
As Foley and Hall (2012) state that a verb or verb phrase is put before the
subject and after adverbs of places (on, opposite, outside, here, there…) and
adverbs of time (next, then, first, now…). The form of verbs can be “to be” or
verbs of movement and place. It is used in the descriptive and literary writing.

7


Types

Example

Place adverbs+ be or verbs of

On the grass sat an enormous fog.

place/movement.
Time adverbs+ be or verbs of

Next is the music program.

place/movement

This case is not applied when the subject of the sentence is a pronoun.
According to Hewings (2005), inversion of verb and subject in the case:
Here comes + noun and There goes + noun is to remind about things and people
that “moving towards or away from the speaker.” (p.198)
For example:
- Here comes the bus.
- There goes Thanh Hang, a famous model in Vietnam.
There is an exception which doesn’t follow this rule of inversion.
For example:
- There he comes.
- (Not there comes he.)
2.1.2. Inversion in reporting sentences
Reporting verbs often come before the subject in the direct speech. These
verbs can be: said, asked…
For example:
- “How much is this mobile phone?” asked John.
It doesn’t happen when the subject is a pronoun.
For example:
- “I would like a cup of tea,” he says.

In narratives, especially novels and short stories, when the reporting
clause comes second, we often invert the subject (s) and reporting verb (v):
For example:
“Things have always been the same in this village,” said the old man.
[V]

8

[S]


‘Hold on! I’m coming!’ cried Maurice.
[V]

[S]

2.1.3. Inversion after a predicate noun
A predicate noun is a noun connected to the subject of the sentence by a
linking verb. A linking verb is a verb that connects words that are the equivalent
of each other. In other words, the subject is linked to another noun, the predicate
noun, by means of the linking verb. It can help to use an equal sign (=) to
visualize the connection between the predicate noun and the subject.
For example:
- “Ryan was a banker. (Ryan = banker, “was” is the linking verb.)”
A noun phrase, in this case, is often inverted into the beginning of the
sentence.
For example:
- An important part of English grammar is conditional sentence.
According to Schmidt (1980:8): “Preposing with no inversion is also odd, but
especially with long subjects.”

For example:
- Conditional sentence is an important part of English grammar.
Inverting a predicate noun into the initial position of the sentence will
create the reader’s attention to the noun itself. The sentence will therefore be
more attractive and impressive.
2.1.4. Inversion after a predicate adjective
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and
modifies (i.e., describes) the subject of the linking verb.
A predicate adjective contrasts with an attributive adjective, which
typically sits immediately before the noun it modifies.
For example:
The shoes

look

expensive

Subject

Liking verb

predicate adjective
9


Inversion after a predicate adjective means the rearrangement in which the
adjective is at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
- The student is very intelligent in your class
=> Very intelligent is the student in your class

It helps to bring the semantic and prosodic meaning for the sentences.
2.1.5. Inversion in formulae
According to Foley& Hall (2012), we also see inversion in certain fixed
expressions, often with subjunctives.
For example:
- Long live the King!
This kind of inversion is also common with the readers. It is used with the
goal of expressing the wishes of the speakers. In addition, the structure “May+
S+ V” is also used in this kind of inversion to hope that a better thing will
happen.
2.1.6. Journalistic style inversion
This kind of inversion is often seen in the media with the personal
pronoun subject.
For example:
- Says lovely actress Mary Malone, “I always have a wonderful
time in Columbus.” (Schmidt, 1980:11)
2.2. Subject- Auxiliary verb inversion
2.2.1. Inversion in some types of questions
2.2.1.1. Inversion in Yes-No questions
“English Yes-No questions are formed by placing the operator before the
subject.” (Nguyen, 1996, p.46)
For example:
- You are a farmer.

=>

- It will rain.

=> Will it rain?

10

Are you a farmer?


Two statements above are turned into yes-no questions by the inversion of
the subject and the auxiliary verb.
There are three types of yes-no questions, two of them are the inverted
question and the inversion with an alternative (which may require more than a
simple yes or no answer)
For example:
- Are you going? (inversion)
- Are you staying or going? (inversion with an alternative)
In an inverted question, the subject and the first verb of the verb phrase are
inverted when that verb is either a modal or an auxiliary verb or with the verb
‘be’ and sometimes ‘have’
For example:
- She is leaving on Wednesday. (statement)
- Is she leaving on Wednesday? (question).
2.2.1.2. Inversion in tag questions
A tag question is a short question which follows a statement. It contains
an auxiliary verb (like the auxiliary verb of the previous statement) and a subject
(a pronoun)
Types

Example

Positive+ Negative?

He is a teacher, isn’t he?

Negative + Positive?

Lan didn’t go to school, did she?

Hardly/ seldom/rarely/ never…+
Positive?

You never go to the cinema, do you?
I’ll go to the cinema with you, shall

I’ll +V, shall I?

I?

Command, will you?

Hurry up, will you?

This kind of inversion is also appeared in spoken literature. It emphasizes
the information which the speaker wants to mention.

11


2.2.1.3. Inversion in Wh-questions
This kind of inversion is very common in English grammar. We can
easily make a full question by using an interrogative word like the following
example.
For example:

- What time is it?
- What do you mean?
This word order is not used in indirect questions.
For example:
- Lan asked me what the weather was like.
- He wondered where she was.
Swan (2005:280) states: “However, in formal writing inversion is
sometimes used with be in indirect questions after how, especially when the
subject is long.”
For example:
I wondered how reliable was the information I had been given
2.2.2. Inversion in exclamations
Inversion is also used in exclamations, as shown below:
In a normal sentence, we say:
- Oh! The girl is beautiful.
- Oh my god! The weather is awful.
Exclamations :
- How beautiful the girl is!
- How awful the weather is!
Exclamation is very common in English. It often starts with the starting of
what or how. It helps the speakers express their feelings and emotion about
something. Inversion in exclamations can be seen in English literature. Using
this kind of inversion will help English sentences or compositions create a more
profound effect.
As Swan (2005:280) notes: “Inversion sometimes appears in the
exclamations after how and what especially in the old-fashioned literary style”.
12


2.2.3. Inversion in conditional sentences

In the book Advanced Language Practice, Vince & Sunderland (2003:67)
claim that we can use inversion instead of using “If” in conditional clauses with
“Were”, “Had” or “Should. It contributes the formality into the sentences and
makes the event less likely. It may be used in the formal and literary conditional
clauses.
For example:
With the normal conditional sentence:
- If she had finished her homework, she wouldn’t have been
received bad marks.
The conditional sentence with inversion will be:
- Had she finished her homework, she wouldn’t have received bad
marks.
But in the negative clauses with inversion, we don’t use “contracted
forms.” (Swan, 2005:198)
For example:
- Had the police not arrived in the airport, the murder would
escapeeasily.
Not:
- Hadn’t the police arrived in the airport, the murder would
escapeeasily
2.2.4. Inversion after negative and restrictive adverbials
According to Hewings (2005), in this type of inversion, negative
adverbials are put at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. We invert the
subject and the auxiliary verb after these negative adverbials. This case usually
happens in the formal and literary language.
• Time expressions: never, rarely, seldom, hardly…when, no
sooner….than
For example:
- Never have I seen an interesting film like this.
13

- Seldom had she won the singing competition.
- Hardly had he come to the party when it rained
• Only + time expressions: only after, only later, only if…
For example:
- Only later did Lan realize that she failed the entrance exam to her
favorite university.
Note: We do not use inversion with only if there is no time expression or
prepositional phrase after it. (Foley & Hall, 2012:323)
For example:
- Only members can park here.
Not:
- Only can members park the
- Only on Thursday afternoon can students go to the movie theater.
• Only + other prepositional phrases: only by, only with…
For example:
- Only by chance had he come back home, he found the thief in his
house.
• Expressions with no/not: not until, at no time, under no
circumstances…
For example:
- Not until I got home did I notice that I had the wrong umbrella.
- Under no circumstance had I used these cards.
• Little with negative meaning
The inversion is achieved when the subject is a pronoun.
For example:
- Little do they know how lucky they are to live in such a
wonderful house.
It means that they don’t know they are lucky when they live in a wonderful

house.

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2.2.5. Inversion in comparative than, as clauses
According to Schmidt (1980), this type of inversion is optional. It is more
formal than non-inverted clauses.
For example:
- Nam did the entrance exam much better than does Mi.
- Marry is taller than is John.
- My house is as big as is your house
2.2.6. Inversion after so, such, neither, nor
Hewings (2005) presents his point of view about this type as follow:
•

So + adjective…that: we put so + adjective at the starting of the sentence
to emphasize the adjective.

For example:
So intelligent is Nam that he can answer all the difficult questions of
examiners.
•

Such + be…that: means so much/ so great. It is used to give the emphasis
to the extent or degree.
For example:
- Such was the force of the storm that the trees were uprooted.

•

Neither/Nor/So is used in this type of inversion to introduce the negative
addition to the negative clause before it.

For example:
- Linh doesn’t like romantic films, neither does Nam.
3. Inversion in vietnamese
3.1. Inversion of predicate and subject
3.1.1. Inversion of verb-predicate and subject
Like English, Vietnamese also has this type of inversion. It means that the
verb of a sentence will be inverted to the beginning of the sentence. It increases
the emotional nuances of the sentence
For example:
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- Đã tan tác những bóng thù hắc ám
- Đã sáng lại trời thu tháng tám
(Ta đi tới, Tố Hữu)
3.1.2. Inversion of adjective-predicate and subject
According to Dinh (1997), putting the adjective at the beginning of the
sentence will contribute to emphasize the adjective and make the sentence more
interesting. It often appears in the literature in Vietnamese.
For example:
- Rất đẹp hình anh lúc nắng chiều.(Tố Hữu)
3.2. Other inverted elements of sentences in Vietnamese
3.2.1. Object-complement
According to Dinh (1994:112): “Bổ ngữ khách thể là bổ ngữ nêu lên sự
vật hiện tượng có tác dụng làm trọn nghĩa cho vị từ đứng trước hoặc chịu tác
dụng của nội dung vị từ đứng trước.” (Object - complement is the complement

which indicates a thing or a phenomenon contributing to make the meaning of
the previous predicate words obvious or being affected directly by the content of
the predicate words).
Inverting the object - complement into the starting of the sentence helps
the mentioned things to stand out and makes the readers have feelings about the
important things.
For example:
- Kỉ niệm đó, suốt đời này tơi sẽ khơng bao giờ qn.
- Cái hình ảnh ngu dại của tôi ngày trước, hôm nào tôi cũng thấy ở
trong tịa báo hai buổi.
(Nguyễn Cơng Hoan)
3.2.2. The predicating word- complement denoting manner
This kind of complement is used to take action which is mentioned in the
predicating word or pointing out how the action is performed. Inverting the
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complement of predicating word denotes manner into the first makes the
description or the narration increase the symbol of thing or object, and attract the
attention of the readers.
For example:
- “Hắn thích chí, khanh khách cười.”(Nam Cao)
- Chí Phèo đứng lại nhìn nó, và hắn bỗng nhiên nghiêng ngả cười.
(Nam Cao)
3.2.3. The word’s complement denoting manner
Inverting the word’s complement denoting the manner into the initial part
of sentence makesthe word- complement turn into the complement of sentence.
It appears often in the literature and art and brings the clear expression- emotion
for the sentence. In this case, adjectives or adverbs are often used as a
complement.

For example:
Sấp ngửa, chị chạy vào cổng, quăng cái rổ, cái mẹt, mê nón xuống sân, rồi
vội vàng, chị chạy vào trong nhà.(Ngô Tất Tố)
3.2.4. The sentential complement denoting reason
In this situation, the sentential complement denoting the reason is put in
the initial place of the sentence. It gives emphasis to the reason of the problem
mentioned in the sentence. From that, it helps to highlight the relationship
between the causes and effects. It makes the sentence become more impressive
and creates the attraction for the composition.
For example:
- Vì muốn lấy Trọng Thủy làm chồng, Mị Châu đã không nghe lời
khuyên răn của đức vua cha.
- Vì chm cho cá bén đăng
- Vì chàng thiếp phải đi trăng về mò.
(Ca dao)

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