Subject-verb Inversion (Explained in Hindi)

Inversion = subject के पहले helping verb अथवा main verb अथवा दोनों का प्रयोग

इस वाक्य को देखिये:

Hardly had he gone out, when his father arrived.

[इस वाक्य में ‘had’ helping verb है. Helping verb का use आमतौर पर subject के बाद किया जाता है; परन्तु इस वाक्य में helping verb ‘had’ का use subject के पहले किया गया है. हम जब ऐसा करते हैं तो इसको Subject और verb का inversion कहा जाता है.]

Inversion निम्न दो  तरह के होते हैं:

A) Partial Inversion
B) Complete Inversion

A) Partial Inversion
जब helping verb का use subject के पहले किया जाता है और main verb का use subject के बाद किया जाता है तो उसको partial inversion कहते हैं; जैसे

Hardly does he come to me.

[इस वाक्य में helping verb ‘does’ का use subject ‘he’ के पहले और main verb ‘come’ का use subject के बाद किया गया है; अतः ये partial inversion है.]

B) Complete Inversion
Complete inversion में subject का use main verb के बाद होता है; जैसे

i) Here comes the taxi!
ii) Just outside the gate was standing a girl.

Inversion के नियम

1. Negative adverbs/words
जब किसी वाक्य के आरंभ में किसी नकारात्मक (negative) अर्थ वाले शब्द का use हुआ हो तो subject और verb को invert किया जाता है. ऐसे कुछ शब्द ये हैं:

Not/Never	Seldom	Barely	Rarely
Scarcely	Hardly	Never before	Little

a) I have never climbed a tree.
= Never have I climbed a tree.

 b) He seldom goes for a morning walk.
= Seldom does he go for a morning walk.

 c) He little realizes what problems he creates for others.
= Little does he realize what problems he creates for others.

d) He does not know a word of any language but of his own.
= Not a word does he know of any language but of his own.

2. ‘Not + Preposition’ से शुरू होने वाले sentences/clauses 

a) Not for a moment did I think I would be sent to the U.S.A.
b) Not till I got home could I feel my purse was lost.
c) Not until many years later did the whole truth become know.

NOTE: यदि किसी वाक्य का आरम्भ ‘not until/till’ से हुआ हो और उस वाक्य में दो clause हों तो उस वाक्य के पहले वाले clause के subject और verb को invert नहीं किया जाता बल्कि दूसरे वाले clause के subject और verb को invert किया जाता है; जैसे

Compare:
a) Not until many years later did the whole truth become known. (One clause)
b) Not until the rain stopped could we see the view of the ocean. (two clauses)
c) Not until the president resigned did the protests stop. (two clauses)
d) Not until my daughter called me did I stop worrying about her.
e) Not till I got home could I feel my purse was lost. (two clauses)

3. ‘Preposition + no’ से शुरू होने वाले sentences/clauses

At no time	Under no circumstances	In no way
On no account	On no condition; etc.

a) Under no circumstances will I go there.
b) At no time was the minister known with the disaster caused by the fire.
c) On no account should one drink and drive.

The doctor told his patient that he should on no account return to work until he had made a complete recovery.
= The doctor told his patient that on no account should he return to work until he had made a complete recovery.

4. ‘No sooner’ से शुरू होने वाले sentence

a) No sooner had she reached home than she started cooking for her child.
b) No sooner did she see the dead body of her husband than she burst into tears.

5. Not only — but also
यदि दो verb conjunction ‘not only — but also’ से जुड़ी हुई हों और वाक्य का आरम्भ ‘not only’ से हुआ हो तो  ‘not only’ के साथ के subject और verb को invert किया जाता है; जैसे

Not only did she read but she also wrote.

6. Neither, Nor, So
यदि किसी remarks/statement में ‘neither, nor अथवा so’ से कोई addition हुआ हो तो इन शब्दों के साथ के subject और verb को invert किया जाता है; जैसे

a) Mohan never goes to movies, neither does his wife. OR nor does his wife.
b) Reena hasn’t any spare time. —- Neither have I. OR Nor have I.
c) Mohan would enjoy a movie and so would Rahul.
d) My brother is having a tooth out tomorrow. —So am I.

7. ‘So + adjective/adverb’ से शुरू होने वाले sentence

a) So rudely did she behave that I was offended.
b) So well did he sing that everyone started liking him.
c) So exhausted was the winner that he collapsed soon after finishing the race.

8. ‘Only +adverb’ अथवा ‘only + adverbial expression’ से शुरू होने वाले sentence

Only yesterday	Only that day	Only last month
Only after a year	Only in a few countries	Only in this way
Only then	Only when + clause

a) Only yesterday did he leave Delhi.
b) Only by working hard did he get

INCORRECT: Only by taking a risk he saved her life.
CORRECT: Only by taking a risk did he save her life.

NOTE: यदि किसी वाक्य का आरंभ ‘only when’ से हुआ हो तो पहले वाले clause के subject और verb को invert नहीं किया जाता बल्कि दूसरे वाले clause के subject और verb को invert किया जाता है; जैसे

Only when you left did I sleep.

9. जब किसी वाक्य का आरम्भ शब्द ‘Such’ वाली किसी अभिव्यक्ति से हुआ हो 

To such an extent	To such lengths	To such a point
To such a degree	Such

His fear of failing the examination was such that he resorted to cheating.
= Such was his fear of failing the examination that he resorted to cheating.

INCORRECT: To such a degree he made a noise that I had to scold him.
CORRECT: To such a degree did he make a noise that I had to scold him.

10. निम्नलिखित से आरम्भ होने वाले Sentences/clauses:

Here	There	Away	Out	Up
Indoors	Outdoors	Among + pronoun	Even more than	Gone

NOTE-I: इन शब्दों/अभिव्यक्तियों के साथ subject के पहले बिना किसी helping verb के main verb का use किया जा सकता है; जैसे

a) There goes Ruchi.
b) I opened the door and there stood Mohit.
c) Away went Mamta.
d) Here comes the train!
e) Here’s your share of sweet.
f) Gone are those days when Indian fans would wake up to disappointing scorecards in Australia.

NOTE-II: परन्तु subject जब कोई pronoun हो तो verb का use subject के बाद किया जाता है; जैसे

Compare
a-i) Away went Mamta.
ii) Away she went.

b-i) There goes Ruchi.
ii) There she goes.

11. ऐसे prepositional phrase/अभिव्यक्तियाँ जो किसी स्थान के लिए use होते हैं 

On a hill	In the valley	Under the stool	Round the corner
Under a tree	Two miles beyond the temple	Along the frontier	On the bed
Outside the gate	Nowhere else, etc.	Next to it	Beyond them
On the ceiling	Inside the box

NOTE: यदि किसी वाक्य का आरम्भ उपरोक्त अभिव्यक्तियों से हुआ हो तो helping verb ‘do/does/did’ का use नहीं किया जाता, बल्कि subject के पहले केवल main verb का ही use किया जाता है. परन्तु वाक्य में यदि किसी अन्य helping verb के use की आवश्यकता हो तो subject के पहले ही helping verb और main verb दोनों को use किया जाता है; जैसे

a) Under a tree was lying the king.
b) Next to it stood a pile of paper cups.
c) Beyond them lay the fields.

INCORRECT: Round the corner did Subhash go.
CORRECT: Round the corner went Subhash.

12. यदि किसी वाक्य का आरम्भ बिना ‘if’ के use के अपूर्ण wish, condition, desire के लिए हुआ हो 

a) Were I a bird, I would fly.
= If I were a bird, I would fly.

b) Had I worked hard, I would have passed the exam.
= If I had worked hard, I would have passed the exam.

13. Direct Speech के वाक्यों में subject और verb का inversion 
यदि Direct Speech के किसी वाक्य में reporting verb का use reported speech के बाद होता है और reporting verb का subject कोई noun हो तो subject और verb का inversion किया जाता है; जैसे

INCORRECT: “Let us go to the pictures”, Ranjan said.
CORRECT: “Let us go to the pictures”, said Ranjan.

NOTE: परन्तु reporting verb का subject यदि कोई pronoun हो तो subject और verb में inversion नहीं होता; जैसे

INCORRECT: “I will do nothing here,” said he.
CORRECT: “I will do nothing here,” he said.

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Subject-verb Inversion (Explained in English)

Inversion = putting the verb before the subject

See this sentence:

Hardly had he gone out, when his father arrived.

[In this sentence ‘had’ is a helping verb. Normally a helping verbs comes after the subject in the affirmative sentences, but here, you see, ‘had’ has come before the subject ‘he’, it’s called ‘Inversion of Subject and verb’.]

We have two types of inversions:

A) Partial Inversion
B) Complete Inversion

A) Partial Inversion
In partial inversion the helping verb is used before the subject and the main verb after the subject; e.g.

Hardly does he come to me. (Here the helping verb ‘does’ is used before the subject ‘he’, and the main verb ‘come’ after it.)

B) Complete Inversion
In complete inversion the subject is used after the main verb; e.g.

i) Here comes the taxi!
ii) Just outside the gate was standing a girl.

Rules of Inversion

1. Negative adverbs/words
When a sentence begins with a word with negative meaning like Not, Never, Seldom, Barely, Rarely, Scarcely, Hardly, Never before, Little, we invert the subject and the verb; e.g.

a) I have never climbed a tree.
= Never have I climbed a tree.

 b) He seldom goes for a morning walk.
= Seldom does he go for a morning walk.

 c) He little realizes what problems he creates for others.
= Little does he realize what problems he creates for others.

d) He does not know a word of any language but of his own.
= Not a word does he know of any language but of his own.

NOTE: If you are using a verb with a helping verb, the first helping verb is placed after the negative word, followed by the subject and then the remainder of the verb. If there is no helping verb, you put the Present Simple Tense or the Past Simple Tense of ‘do’ after the negative word, followed by the subject and then the base form of the main verb.

2. Sentences/clauses beginning with ‘not + preposition’
We also invert the subject and verb after ‘not + a prepositional phrase/clause’ when it begins a sentence; e.g.

a) Not for a moment did I think I would be sent to the U.S.A.
b) Not till I got home could I feel my purse was lost.
c) Not until many years later did the whole truth become know.

NOTE: If any negative expression begins with ‘not until/till’ the subject and the verb in the first clause immediately after ‘not until/till’ are not inverted; rather the subject and the verb in the second clause are inverted; e.g.

Compare:
a) Not until many years later did the whole truth become known. (One clause)
b) Not until the rain stopped could we see the view of the ocean. (two clauses)
c) Not until the president resigned did the protests stop. (two clauses)
d) Not until my daughter called me did I stop worrying about her.
e) Not till I got home could I feel my purse was lost. (two clauses)

3. Sentences/clauses beginning with ‘preposition + no’

At no time	Under no circumstances	In no way
On no account	On no condition; etc.

a) Under no circumstances will I go there.
b) At no time was the minister known with the disaster caused by the fire.
c) On no account should one drink and drive.

The doctor told his patient that he should on no account return to work until he had made a complete recovery.
= The doctor told his patient that on no account should he return to work until he had made a complete recovery.

4. Sentences beginning with ‘no sooner’

a) No sooner had she reached home than she started cooking for her child.
b) No sooner did she see the dead body of her husband than she burst into tears.

5. Not only — but also
If two verbs are joined by ‘not only — but also’ and the sentence is beginning with ‘not only’, we use the inverted form of the verb with ‘not only’; e.g.

Not only did she read but she also wrote.

6. Neither, Nor, So
When any addition to a remarks/statement is made with ‘neither, nor or so’, the verb is inverted; e.g.

a) Mohan never goes to movies, neither does his wife. OR nor does his wife.
b) Reena hasn’t any spare time. —- Neither have I. OR Nor have I.
c) Mohan would enjoy a movie and so would Rahul.
d) My brother is having a tooth out tomorrow. —So am I.

7. Sentences beginning with ‘so + adjective/adverb’

a) So rudely did she behave that I was offended.
b) So well did he sing that everyone started liking him.
c) So exhausted was the winner that he collapsed soon after finishing the race.

8. Sentences beginning with ‘only +adverb’ or ‘only + adverbial expression’; e.g.

Only yesterday	Only that day	Only last month
Only after a year	Only in a few countries	Only in this way
Only then	Only when + clause

a) Only yesterday did he leave Delhi.
b) Only by working hard did he get

INCORRECT: Only by taking a risk he saved her life.
CORRECT: Only by taking a risk did he save her life.

NOTE: If any sentence begins with ‘only when’, the subject and the verb in the first clause immediately after ‘only when’ are not inverted; rather the subject and the verb in the second clause are inverted; e.g.

Only when you left did I sleep.

9. Sentences beginning with expressions having ‘such’

To such an extent	To such lengths	To such a point
To such a degree	Such

His fear of failing the examination was such that he resorted to cheating.
= Such was his fear of failing the examination that he resorted to cheating.

INCORRECT: To such a degree he made a noise that I had to scold him.
CORRECT: To such a degree did he make a noise that I had to scold him.

10. Sentences/clauses beginning with the following:

Here	There	Away	Out	Up
Indoors	Outdoors	Among + pronoun	Even more than	Gone

NOTE-I: After these expressions, we can use the main verb without a helping verb or modal verb; e.g.

a) There goes Ruchi.
b) I opened the door and there stood Mohit.
c) Away went Mamta.
d) Here comes the train!
e) Here’s your share of sweet.
f) Gone are those days when Indian fans would wake up to disappointing scorecards in Australia.

NOTE-II: But when the subject is a pronoun, the verb is used after the subject; e.g.

Compare
a-i) Away went Mamta.
ii) Away she went.

b-i) There goes Ruchi.
ii) There she goes.

11. Expressions/prepositional phrases referring to a place

On a hill	In the valley	Under the stool	Round the corner
Under a tree	Two miles beyond the temple	Along the frontier	On the bed
Outside the gate	Nowhere else, etc.	Next to it	Beyond them
On the ceiling	Inside the box

NOTE: If the above expressions begin a sentence, we do not use the helping verbs ‘do/does/did’, rather we use the main verb itself before the subject. If any other helping verb is needed we use both the helping verb and the main verb before the subject; e.g.

a) Under a tree was lying the king.
b) Next to it stood a pile of paper cups.
c) Beyond them lay the fields.

INCORRECT: Round the corner did Subhash go.
CORRECT: Round the corner went Subhash.

12. When Sentences expressing unfulfilled wish, condition, desire do not begin with ‘if’

a) Were I a bird, I would fly.
= If I were a bird, I would fly.

b) Had I worked hard, I would have passed the exam.
= If I had worked hard, I would have passed the exam.

13. Inversion of subject and verb in the sentences of Direct Speech
If the reporting verb is used after the reported speech and the subject of the reporting verb is a noun, we use inverted form of verb with the subject of the reporting verb; e.g.

INCORRECT: “Let us go to the pictures”, Ranjan said.
CORRECT: “Let us go to the pictures”, said Ranjan.

NOTE: But, if the subject of the reporting verb is a pronoun, the verb is not inverted; e.g.

INCORRECT: “I will do nothing here,” said he.
CORRECT: “I will do nothing here,” he said.

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