What will happen if I want to begin my sentence with a negative adverbial? Would it be enough with a comma, or is there a higher price to pay? Jump right into the fascinating world of negative inversions...   

1. Introduction: A review of the previous episode; it is OK ro move an adverbial to the beginning of the sentence as long as I promise to give you a comma.

2. What happens if I want to move a negative adverb to the beginning of a sentence? Negative adverbial openings cause negative inversions. This implies a whole change in syntax and sentence structure. The statement follows the syntax of  a question. 

- I have never read a more boring book.

- Never have I read a more boring book  

3. Suggestions and further practice

KEYWORDS:

Subject, verb, object, adverbials, negative adverbials and adverbs, syntax, structure of a declarative sentence, structure of an interrogative sentence, negative inversions

Thank you for listening to this episode. I hope that it helped you discovering something about writing that you did not know,  or that it helped you looking at things from a different perspective. If you enjoyed it, you might consider leaving a positive review wherever you are listening. It might seem simple, but it really helps.  

If you know someone who is struggling with writing in English,  you could also think about sharing this episode (or the whole podcast) with them. It might help them in their journey of becoming a better writer. Likewise, if you – or any of your friends  – are taking official external exams, you will find valuable info and tricks for the writing part of your exams. You will find this especially relevant if you are taking the Cambridge Exams.