Negative Adverbials for Emphasis

Form

When a negative or limiting adverbial moves to the front of a sentence for emphasis, the subject and the auxiliary swap places, exactly as they do in a question.

So the order is adverbial, then auxiliary, then subject, then the rest of the verb (Never have I felt so unprepared; Seldom does he admit being wrong). If the verb has no auxiliary of its own, do, does or did steps in and the main verb goes back to its base form (Rarely do we see such dedication), though be inverts on its own (Never was he so happy). Several of these openers come in fixed pairs — hardly or scarcely with when, no sooner with than, and not only with but also — and the hardly and no sooner patterns take the past perfect in the first half (No sooner had we sat down than the food arrived).

When to Use It

1. 1

   Invert the subject and the auxiliary after a fronted negative adverbial

   Never have I seen such a talented team.

2. 2

   Add the auxiliary do when the verb has none of its own, so does and did appear in its place

   Seldom does he work on weekends.

3. 3

   Use not only at the front to add a bigger second point, with but also in the next clause

   Not only did she meet the deadline, but she also came in under budget.

4. 4

   Use hardly or scarcely with when for two events in quick succession

   Hardly had I sat down when the phone rang.

5. 5

   Use no sooner with than, never with when

   No sooner had they signed the contract than the company announced layoffs.

6. 6

   Save these openers for formal writing and speeches, where the effect is dramatic rather than everyday

   Under no circumstances should you leave the building unattended.

Common Mistakes

• Statement order after the adverbial: write Never have I felt so unprepared, not Never I have felt so unprepared — the auxiliary has to come before the subject.
• Missing do: write Rarely do we see such dedication, not Rarely we see such dedication — a verb with no auxiliary of its own borrows do, does or did.
• No sooner with when: write No sooner had we left than it began to rain, not No sooner had we left when it began to rain — no sooner always pairs with than.
• Then for than: write No sooner had we sat down than the food arrived, not No sooner had we sat down then the food arrived — than makes the comparison, and then marks time.
• Inverting the second clause: write Not only did he arrive late, but he also forgot the files, not Not only did he arrive late, but also did he forget the files — only the clause the adverbial opens is inverted.