VOA慢速英语--Improve Your Writing with Inversion, Part 2

 

In last week’s Everyday Grammar, we told you about a few kinds of inversion¹ that are useful in academic writing and common on the TOEFL. But there are others. Today, we’ll talk about three more. In fact, I already used one kind in my introduction.

Comparatives

Let’s begin with comparatives. When you learn about comparatives, you are usually taught to compare two subjects or two objects. Here’s an example that compares two subjects:

She speaks English better than her brother does.

Notice that the second subject – her brother – comes after the comparative word “than.” And, the auxiliary² verb (in this case, “does”) comes at the end of the statement.

But, we can also use inversion to compare the two subjects. When we do this, we cannot leave out the auxiliary verb. Instead, we place it after the word “than.” Here’s how it would sound with the example:

She speaks English better than does her brother.

It sounds strange, but that’s because it’s not something we do in spoken English. Again, inversion is very formal, usually used in written form, and only appropriate in some types of writing.

Comparing two subjects using inversion is something you can find in academic writing and on the TOEFL. Listen for the comparison in this reading about lions:

Lions roar louder than do all wild cats. At 114 decibels⁴, their roar is among the animal world’s 10 loudest and can be heard from a distance up to 8 kilometers. A lion’s volume helps it locate other lions and shows dominance over territory.

The inversion appears in this statement:

Lions roar louder than do all wild cats.

Notice again that the inversion appears immediately after the comparative word “than.” The auxiliary verb “do” follows “than” and comes after the second subject. Not too difficult.

Conditionals⁶

Now, let’s move to conditionals. When we talk about hypothetical situations, we usually use the word “if” to show the condition and a modal verb to show the result. These statements are called “conditionals.” For example:

If the package arrives by Friday, I will cancel the second order.

But, in very formal conditionals, we do things a little differently. We replace the word “if” with the auxiliary verbs “had” “should” or “were.” When we do this, we are putting the auxiliary verb before the subject.

You may see formal conditionals on the TOEFL test. You can also use them in an essay, but be sure to use them correctly. You must know which word (“should,” “were” or “had”) goes with which type of conditional⁵.

Listen to a short example on the economy. The first statement uses “if” in the conditional clause.

If the president continues pushing the tariffs⁷, the economy could suffer great losses. Some companies are already shifting jobs overseas.

And here’s the example again using “were” and inversion.

Were the president to continue pushing the tariffs, the economy could suffer great losses.

Notice the example’s construction. The words “Were the president to continue” follow the construction auxiliary verb + subject + main verb. You may also notice that the main verb -- “to continue” -- is the infinitive⁸. When using “were” to make a conditional, we use the infinitive form after the subject.

Phrases with “there”

This next type of inversion may seem easy. You’ve already seen – and probably used – “there is” and “there are” many times in your English speaking and writing.

The construction there + BE + subject is used in everyday speech and common in writing. It is also a kind of inversion. We use it to point to the presence or existence of something or someone. For example, “There are some great Ethiopian restaurants on 9th Street” is what I might say if someone asked me for restaurant suggestions. In English, we simply would not use the traditional subject + verb word order in such a statement.

But, in academic writing and on language tests such as the TOEFL, you may find constructions with “there” that are a little more complex. So, here are two things worth remembering:

Verbs other than “to be,” such as “to exist” or “to come” can be used.

But, pay attention: The statement may not always begin with “there.” It may be part of a subordinate clause.

Let’s hear an example using the verb “to exist.” The passage comes from an academic blog at Vanderbilt University:

Icy Europa has a surface of water-ice over an interior that is heated by tidal heating. Scientists hypothesize that there exists an ocean just beneath the icy surface. It may even be possible that this concealed⁹ ocean holds more than double the amount of liquid water in all of Earth’s oceans.

Listen again to the statement containing “there exists”:

Scientists hypothesize that there exists an ocean just beneath the icy surface.

The construction “there exists” does not begin the statement. It is part of a that-clause: a subordinate clause beginning with the word “that.”

But, you’ll note that “there exists an ocean” still follows the construction there + verb + subject.

Well that’s our time for today. Should you wish to practice inversion, you can try out the practice statements we’ve provided.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

roar – v. to make the loud sound of a wild animal

decibel³ – n. a unit for measuring how loud a sound is

hypothetical – adj. involving or based on a suggested idea or theory

construction – n. the way words in a sentence or phrase are arranged

subordinate clause – n. A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence

blog – n. a Web site on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences

Europa – n. an icy moon of the planet Jupiter

tidal – adj. rising and falling at regular times

1 inversion   

n.反向，倒转，倒置

参考例句：

• But sometimes there is an unusual weather condition called a temperature inversion.但有时会有一种被称作“温度逆增”的不平常的天气状态。
• And finally,we made a discussion on the problems in the cooperative inversion.最后，对联合反演中存在的问题进行了讨论。

2 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

3 decibel   

n.分贝(音量的单位)

参考例句：

• The noise pollution reached a high decibel level.噪音污染达到了很高分贝。
• In sound we use the decibel scale.在声学中我们采用分贝标度。

4 decibels   

n.分贝( decibel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The typical lawn mower makes about 90 decibels of noise. 典型的割草机发出的声响约为90分贝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A normal conversation reaches 55 decibels. 普通的谈话即可达55分贝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

6 conditionals   

n.条件句，从句，条件式( conditional的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Conditionals are used to about possible, imaginary or impossible conditions. 条件句用于谈论有可能的、想像的或不可能的状况。 来自互联网
• Macros containing conditionals will automatically update their visual feedback as appropriate during play. 宏中若有条件式存在时，会依照条件式自动更新该宏的技能、物品描述。 来自互联网

7 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

8 infinitive   

n.不定词；adj.不定词的

参考例句：

• The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable.分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。
• Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive.情态动词通常用不带to的不定式。

9 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。