Reference · module 32
Putting the weight somewhere
Everything this module explains, on one page.
It was Anna who
Point at one word in a sentence and hold it there.
- Anna broke the window becomes It was Anna who broke the window. The sentence has been rebuilt to put all the weight on Anna.
- English cannot move words for emphasis the way many languages can, so it builds a new sentence around the word instead.
- The other shape starts with what: What I need is a holiday. It delays the important word to the very end, where the stress falls.
The mistake you are about to make
The window Anna broke.
It was Anna who broke the window.
Many languages move the important word to a stressed position. English cannot — the order is fixed — so it builds a new sentence around the word instead.
Never have I seen
Recognise the inverted sentences of formal writing.
- Never have I seen anything like it. When a negative word opens the sentence, the verb and subject swap places, exactly as in a question.
- The trigger words are negative or near-negative: never, rarely, seldom, not only, no sooner, little. All of them cause the swap.
- It belongs to writing and to speeches. In an ordinary conversation it sounds theatrical, and that is sometimes exactly the effect wanted.
The mistake you are about to make
Never I have seen anything like it.
Never have I seen anything like it.
Fronting the negative word looks like simple emphasis and nothing else. It also swaps the verb and subject, exactly as a question does.
I do like it
Insist without raising your voice.
- I do like it. The do adds nothing to the meaning and everything to the insistence: it answers a doubt somebody has, spoken or not.
- It works in the past too: I did tell you. And with does: She does know about it. The helper takes the tense and the main verb goes plain.
- In the imperative it softens rather than strengthens: Do come in. Do have a seat. It is an invitation with warmth added.
The mistake you are about to make
I do liked it.
I did like it.
The auxiliary takes the tense and the main verb goes back to plain — the same rule as in a question. I did like it.
Which word to stress
Hear how stress changes what a sentence says.
- I didn't say she stole it can mean seven different things depending on which word is stressed. English uses the voice where other languages use words.
- The default is to stress the new information, which usually comes last. Where do you live? I live in Berlin — the stress falls on Berlin.
- For a contrast the stress moves: I said Tuesday, not Thursday. The two stressed words are the ones being compared, wherever they sit.
The mistake you are about to make
I didn't say she stole it. (said flat)
I didn't say SHE stole it.
Other languages can move a word or add a particle to point at it. English has the voice: the same sentence means seven things depending on the stress.