Inversion in english in comparison with that in vietnamese and some suggested pratice exercises for learners of english submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of bachelor pedagogy

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0.2
FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY

======

NGUYEN THI HA GIANG

INVERSION IN ENGLISH IN COMPARISON WITH THAT IN
VIETNAMESE AND SOME SUGGESTED PRACTICE EXERCISES
FOR LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN VAN DEN, M.A.

Hanoi, May 2016


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is a fact that this thesis cannot be accomplished without the assistance from
many people.
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mr.
Nguyen Van Den, M.A. for his enthusiastic guidance and encouragement. Without
his experienced assistance and valuable comments on the content as well as the
organization of the study, it would still be far from finished.
Especially, I would like to show my sincere thanks to Mr. Silverman for his
considerate and careful support. He helped me to check the spelling, English
grammar and the English word usage.

Also, I really want to send my particular thanks to all the lectures of Foreign
Language Faculty and my friends for their great help and comments on my study.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for helping and
encouraging me during my research.

i


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.

ii


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Title:
INVERSION IN ENGLISH IN COMPARISON WITH THAT IN
VIETNAMESE AND SOME SUGGESTED PRACTICE
EXERCISES FOR LEARNERS OF ENGLISH
I certify that all the materials in this study which are not my own work have been
identified and acknowledged and the study is originally written by me under the
guidance of my supervisor.

Date submitted: May 2016
Student

Supervisor

Nguyen Thi Ha Giang

Nguyen Van Den, M. A.

iii


ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a foreign language
ed.: Edition
CA: Contrastive analysis
p.: Page number

S: Subject
O: Object
C: Complement
V: Verb
OE: Old English
L2: Second language

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .......................................................................iii
ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... v

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE ....................................................................................................... 1
II.

RESEARCH PRESUPPOSTION ..................................................................... 2

III.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................. 3

IV.

RESEARCH SCOPE ........................................................................................ 3

V. RESEARCH METHOD....................................................................................... 3
VI.

RESEARCH TASKS ........................................................................................ 4

VII. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH .......................................................... 4
VIII.

DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK ...................................................... 4

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I. LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF............................................................... 6
II.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

INVERSION ............................................................................................................. 9
II.1. Word order .................................................................................................... 9
II.2. Definition of inversion ................................................................................ 10
II.3. Function of inversion .................................................................................. 11
II.3.1. In written text .......................................................................................... 11
II.3.2. In speaking context.................................................................................. 11
v


III. INVERSION IN ENGLISH ......................................................................... 12
III.1. Subject- Verb inversion ............................................................................ 12
III.1.1. Inversion after adverbial expressions of place/time .............................. 12

III.1.2. Inversion in reporting sentences ............................................................ 13
III.1.3. Inversion after a predicate noun............................................................. 13
III.1.4. Inversion after a predicate adjective ...................................................... 13
III.1.5. Inversion in formulae ............................................................................. 14
III.1.6. Journalistic style inversion..................................................................... 14
III.2. Subject- Auxiliary verb inversion ............................................................ 14
III.2.1. Inversion in questions ............................................................................ 14
III.2.1.1. Inversion in yes-no questions ............................................................. 14
III.2.1.2. Inversion in tag questions ................................................................... 14
III.2.1.3. Inversion in WH-questions ................................................................. 15
III.2.2. Inversion in exclamations ...................................................................... 16
III.2.3. Inversion in conditional sentences ......................................................... 16
III.2.4. Inversion after negative and restrictive adverbials ................................ 17
III.2.5. Inversion in comparative than, as clauses ............................................. 18
III.2.6. Inversion after so, such, neither, nor ..................................................... 18
IV. INVERSION IN VIETNAMESE ................................................................ 19
IV.1. Inversion of predicate and subject ........................................................... 19
IV.1.1. Inversion of verb-predicate and subject................................................. 19
IV.1.2. Inversion of adjective-predicate and subject ......................................... 19
IV.2. Other inverted elements of sentences in Vietnamese ............................. 20
IV.2.1. Object-complement................................................................................ 20
IV.2.2. The predicating word- complement denoting manner .......................... 20
IV.2.3. The word’s complement denoting manner ............................................ 20
IV.2.4. The sentential complement denoting reason ......................................... 21
IV.2.5. The sentential complement denoting purpose ....................................... 21
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IV.3.Inversion of predicating words.................................................................. 22
IV.3.1. Inversion with the existential meaning and onomatopoetic or

pictographic words. ............................................................................................ 22
IV.3.2. Inversion with the manifestation meaning and movement .................... 22

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY AND SIMILARITIES AND
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE INVERSION
I. RATIONALE TO CHOOSE CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ...................... 24
II.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES ..................................................... 26

II.1. Similarities between English and Vietnamese inversion ......................... 26
II.1.1. Similarities in definition .......................................................................... 26
II.1.2. Similarities in the structure ..................................................................... 26
II.1.3. Similarities in the emphasized verb ........................................................ 27
I.1.4. Similarities in the meaning of expression ................................................ 28
II.2. Differences between English and Vietnamese inversion ......................... 28
II.2.1. Difference in the structure ....................................................................... 28
II.2.1. Differences in the inverted elements of sentence.................................... 29
III. IMPLICATIONS FOR INVERSION TEACHING AND LEARNING IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE. ......................................................................... 32
III.1. Some students’ errors in learning English inversion. ................................ 32
III.2. Suggested solutions in teaching and learning English inversion based on
similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese inversion ............. 33
III.3.Some suggested exercises involving inversion for EFL students ................. 34

PART THREE: CONCLUSION
I. CONCLUSION................................................................................................. 36
II.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTHER STUDY ........... 37

II.1. Limitations ..................................................................................................... 37
vii


II.2. Suggestions for further study ........................................................................ 37
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 38
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................. 40

viii


PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

I. 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
1


the constituents in the sentence in order to emphasize the action or people which
are mentioned in the context. In 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 “Inversion in English in comparison with

that in Vietnamese and some suggested practice exercises for learners of English.”
is conducted.

II. RESEARCH PRESUPPOSTION
The study is conducted to answer the following questions:
- What are different kinds of English inversion?
- What kinds of Vietnamese inversion are there?
- What are the similarities and differences between English inversion and
Vietnamese one?
- What are some predictions on common errors that students often get?
- What are the suggested solutions in teaching and learning inversion?
2


- What are some forms of exercises for EFL students?

III. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The study’s purposes are:
- Getting a fuller understanding of English inversion
- Understanding more about the Vietnamese one.
- Comparing English and Vietnamese inversions.
- Introducing exercises for EFL students.

IV. RESEARCH SCOPE
The research concentrates on the kinds of English and Vietnamese
inversions. This research also gives some examples related to some typical
inversion in both English and Vietnamese literature. Along with that, the
comparison between English inversion and Vietnamese inversion as conducted in
this research is designed to help the readers recognize the importance of inversion
in both languages.

V. 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. Finally,
I predict some typical students’ errors and suggest some solutions to teach and

3


learn inversion, along with introducing various types of exercises related to
inversion for EFL students.

VI. RESEARCH TASKS
The research will focus on some main tasks below:
 Giving an overview of word order in English.
 Studying the definition and types of English inversion.
 Studying the inversion in Vietnamese.
 Comparing English and Vietnamese inversion.
 Predicting the common errors of students
 Suggesting some solutions in teaching and learning inversion.
 Suggesting some forms of exercises involving inversion for EFL
students.

VII. 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.

VIII.

DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK
4


The research consists of three main parts: Introduction, Development and
Conclusion. Part one gives the reason for choosing the topic, objectives, tasks 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.

5


PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.

LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF
Generally, English inversion is a grammatical category that is difficult for

learners to understand and master. It has been studied by many grammarians for
years including some English authors like: Foley and Hall (2012), Vince and
Sunderland (2003), Hewings (2005), etc. All the studies contribute to the research
of inversion to help learners to know more about inversion such as: definition,
types and usage.
Schmidt (1980), with the book A History of Inversion in English, illustrates
an overview of Old English (OE) word order as well as the classification of English
inversion in the 15th and 16th centuries. Besides he also presents the types and the
function of inversion in modern English. He claims:
The functions of OE inversion proposed in the literature are the same function in
the discussion of inversion in modern English: rhythmic reasons for inversion,
intersentential connection, emphasis and thematicity. Most certainly these are factors that
enter into the use of inversion in OE. (p.70)

Thomson and Martinet (1986), in A practical English Grammar (4thed.), pay
attention to the inversion of the verb after certain adverbs such as: hardly…when, in
no circumstances, no sooner…than and so on. Along with these, they also give
some notes in doing exercises which involve inversion. In some cases, this book is
very useful and necessary. Last but not least, it doesn’t give the reader a full range
of inversion in English and makes it really difficult for them to understand
inversion clearly.
Dorgeloh (1997) studies the word order in English, types of English
inversion, the semantics of inversion and the inversion in discourse in the book
named Inversion in modern English - Form and Function. He divides English
6


inversion into two main different categories: full inversion (FI) and subject
auxiliary inversion (SAI). The book is extremely helpful so that students can learn
more about inversion in modern English especially in function.
Vince and Sunderland (2003), in the book Advanced language Practice,
focus on the definition of English inversion. They state that inversion in English
contains two important grammatical operations: the usage of a question form of the
main verb and the change of normal positions of verb and subjects. In addition, he
introduces the classification of English inversion such as: inversion after negative
adverbials, so/such ... that and inversion with conditional sentences. This author
has contributed an effective document in learning English inversion. It is
wonderfully done but the contents need to be more detailed. Moreover, he doesn’t
pay much attention to the subject-verb inversion.
In the book Advanced Grammar in Use (2nded.), Hewings (2005) gives an
overall look and provides exercises in English inversion. He emphasizes the
function of inversion and gives more details about the kinds of inversion we find in
English. This is a particularly useful book for English learners because it provides

more information about the kinds of inversion in brief. It helps students to easily
remember and learn the structures of English inversion.
In Inversion in written and spoken contemporary English, Alonso (2007)
states that in this study, he concentrates on full-verb inversion in present-day
English, especially inversion in interrogative and exclamatory clauses. He also
mentions the quotation or journalistic style of inversion. In addition, he also
compares some researches by Dorgeloh (1997) with other authors. He particularly
highlights his study with full verb inversions seen in written and spoken English at
present.
Vince (2008) with the book English Grammar in Context describes English
inversion in several aspects. He also mentions that inversion is used in formal
speech and writing. According to him, inversion in English involves the usage of
7


word order in interrogative form after an adverb with a negative or restrictive
meaning at the beginning of the sentence. The author pays more attention to
subject-auxiliary verb inversion and the content of this book is just not sufficient. It
doesn’t mention the inversions found in exclamatory sentences and in tag
questions.
In Advanced Learners’ Grammar (12th ed.) of Foley and Hall (2012)
distinguishes the kinds of inversion: subject-verb inversion and subject-auxiliary
inversion. Besides, the authors also show several special cases that do not use
inversion like: no doubt and only.
In addition, Vietnamese authors also have their different points of view about
inversion. Inversion in Vietnamese concentrates on literature in any format.
Although there are fewer authors in Vietnam who do this type of research on
inversion, they do give reasonably full information about inversion.
In the book entitled Phong cách học và đặc điểm tu từ Tiếng Việt (Stylistics
and Vietnamese rhetorical Features), Cu Dinh Tu (1983) gives his points of view

about Vietnamese inversion. He points out the two types of Vietnamese inversion
and gives examples to substantiate his views. This book supplies necessary and
exact information about Vietnamese inversion. However, it lacks in some of the
special kinds of inversion found in Vietnamese literature.
Dinh Trong Lac (1997) in the book Phong cách học Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese
Stylistics), concentrates on the definition, the function of inversion and the
classification of Vietnamese inversion. With these ideas, he presents some poems
in Vietnamese literature to explain to readers about inversion in Vietnamese
clearly. The author gives a complete definition of inversion in Vietnamese as well
as its function in writing. From that, readers, especially students can have a
profound look into how this rhetorical device is best employed.
In summary, each author above has made an overview of inversion in
English and Vietnamese. Their contributions are very useful and necessary for
8


learners to study and then do the exercises that contain inversion. However, most of
them only focus on the definition, the classification and the usage of inversion in
either Vietnamese inversion or English inversion. Thus, it will be prominent to
have a comparison between English and Vietnamese inversion. It is the reason why
this research is conducted.

II.

AN

INTRODUCTION

TO

ENGLISH

AND

VIETNAMESE

INVERSION
II.1. Word order
Word order is a prominent part of English grammar. As Dorgeloh (1997)
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.”
( p.13)
For example:
I

like

flowers

S

V

O

He

is

a doctor

S

V

C

Cu Dinh Tu (1983) states: “Trật tự sắp xếp của các thành tố của một tổ hợp
trong Tiếng Việt là phương thức cơ bản để biểu thị ý nghĩa ngữ pháp nói chung và
quan hệ ngữ pháp nói riêng.” (p.336) (The order of sentence elements in
Vietnamese is a fundamental device to present the grammatical meaning in general
and the grammatical relations in particular).
For example:
Anh ấy

tặng

S

V

tôi

một món quà .

O1

O2

9

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.
II.2. Definition of inversion
According to Schmidt (1980), inversion is defined as “the sentential surface
structure word order in which the verb of the sentence precedes the subject of the
sentence.” (p.4)
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) claims: “Đảo ngữ là hiện tượng vi phạm có chủ
định trật tự các đơn vị lời nói nhằm mục đích tách ra một thành tố nghĩa- cảm xúc
nào đó.” (p.257)(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:

10




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?
II.3. Function of inversion
II.3.1. In written text
Hewings (2005) presents: “Inversion brings about fronting, the re-ordering of
information in a sentence to give emphasis in a particular place. Often this causes
an element to be postponed until later in the sentence, focusing attention on
it.”(p.198)
Whereas, Dinh (1997) gives his own point of view: “Chức năng của tu từ đảo
ngữ là làm thay đổi tiết tấu của câu, làm giàu âm hưởng, gợi màu sắc biểu cảm-cảm
xúc, gây ấn tượng mạnh.” (p.257) (The function of inversion is to change the
intonation of the sentences, to enrich the syllabus harmony, to excite the expressive
and emotional color and create an intensive emphasis)
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.
II.3.2. In speaking context
In speaking context, inversion helps listeners pay more attention to the
emphasized part which the speakers want to talk about and emphasize. Inversion

11


makes the intonation of the sentence change so that the listeners know what is
important in an utterance.

III. INVERSION IN ENGLISH
III.1. Subject- Verb inversion
III.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.
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
Table 1: Types and example of inversion after adverb expression
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.)

12


III.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.
III.1.3. Inversion after a predicate noun
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): “ Preposing with no inversion is also odd, but
especially with long subjects.” (p.8)
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.
III.1.4. Inversion after a predicate adjective
Inversion after a predicate adjective means the rearrangement in which the
adjective is at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
Very intelligent is the student in your class.
Plainly detectible were the scars from his old football injury.
(Schmidt, 1980, p.9)
It helps to bring the semantic and prosodic meaning for the sentences.
13


III.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.
III.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, p.11)
III.2. Subject- Auxiliary verb inversion

III.2.1. Inversion in questions
III.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.

Are you a farmer?

=> Will it rain?

Two statements above are turned into yes-no questions by the inversion of
the subject and the auxiliary verb.
III.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).
14


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…+ You never go to the cinema, do you?

Positive?
I’ll +V, shall I?

I’ll go to the cinema with you, shall
I?

Command, will you?

Hurry up, will you?

Table 2: Types of tag questions
This kind of inversion is also appeared in spoken literature. It emphasizes
the information which the speaker wants to mention.
III.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) states: “However, in formal writing inversion is sometimes
used with be in indirect questions after how, especially when the subject is
long.”(p.280)
For example:
I wondered how reliable was the information I had been given.

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III.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) notes: “Inversion sometimes appears in the exclamations
after how and what especially in the old-fashioned literary style”. (p.280)
III.2.3. Inversion in conditional sentences
In the book Advanced Language Practice, Vince & Sunderland (2003) 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. (p.79). 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.
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