A note on inverted sentences and modal verbs

First, complete inversion, that is, moving the predicate to the subject. The situations that constitute complete inversion in English mainly include:

1. Sentences that begin with directional adverbs such as here, there, now, then, out, in, up, down, off, and go. When the subject of a sentence is a noun, the sentence is completely upside down. For example:

Here comes the bus. Here comes the bus.

Now it's your turn. Now it's your turn.

Then there was a new difference. At this time, a new difficulty appeared.

The door opened and Mr. Li came in. The door opened and Mr. Li came in.

Note: If the subject is a pronoun, there is no need to invert it. For example:

The door opened and she came in. The door opened and she came in.

2. Put the predicative and adverbial of place (mostly prepositional phrases) at the beginning of the sentence to show emphasis, and then usually use the inverted word order. For example:

Among them is my friend Jim. Among them is my friend Jim.

There are some tall trees around the lake. There are some tall trees by the lake.

Note: in the inverted structure where the predicate is placed at the beginning of a sentence, it should be noted that the predicate should be consistent with the subject after it, but not with the predicate at the beginning of the sentence.

3. The inversion of adverbial or predicative at the beginning of a sentence

In order to keep the sentence balanced or make the context cohesive, sometimes adverbial or predicative can be placed at the beginning of the sentence, and the subject and predicate in the sentence are completely reversed:

Among these people is his friend Jim. His friend Jim was among them.

4. Put the participle and infinitive at the beginning of the sentence.

Sometimes, for emphasis, the present participle, past participle or infinitive of the predicate part can be placed at the beginning of the sentence, thus forming an inverted sentence:

Buried in the desert is an ancient village. An ancient village was buried in this sand.

Partial inversion, that is, the inversion of subject and auxiliary verb, has the same structure as general interrogative sentences. The main situations of component inversion in English are:

1. Words with negative meanings (such as never, almost, rarely, rarely, rarely, not until, not only, soon, no longer, not anywhere, never, etc. ) at the beginning of the sentence, and then partially inverted. For example:

I have never read such a book. I have never read such a book.

We know little about his life. We know little about his life.

You should never tell him about it. You must never tell him about it.

2. Only+adverbial (adverb/prepositional phrase/clause) is placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by partial inversion. For example:

Only in this way can you do it well. Only in this way can you do it well.

Only when he got home did he realize what had happened. Only when he got home did he know what had happened.

3. When so/nen/nor indicates that the above situation also applies to the latter, use the inverted sentence of "so/nen/nor+ auxiliary verb+subject". For example:

He can sing English songs, so can I. He can sing English songs, so can I.

He didn't watch the movie, and neither did I. He didn't watch the movie, and neither did I.

She is beautiful, and so was her mother when she was young. She is beautiful, and so was her mother when she was young.

4. When the subjunctive conditional sentence contains were, should and had, if can be omitted, while were, should and had can be placed at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

If I were Tom, I would refuse. If I were Tom, I would refuse.

If I had realized this, I would have done something. If I understood this, I might take some action.

5. in the structure of so ... when so+adj./adv is placed at the beginning of a sentence, the inverted word order should be used after it. For example:

It was so cold that we had to stay at home. It was so cold that we had to stay at home.

The speed of light is so fast that it is difficult for us to imagine its speed. The speed of light is so fast that it is difficult for us to imagine its speed.

Three. Common flip types

1.as is used to explain "although". When guiding adverbial clauses, the predicative, adverbial or verb prototype must be placed before as. At this time, we should pay attention to the following points: first, if the preposition is a singular countable noun without adjective modification, the indefinite article should be omitted; Secondly, if the prototype of the verb is advanced (mostly intransitive verbs), it is usually used with may, might, will, would, etc. , and these words should be kept in the original position (after the subject); Third, although sometimes it can be reversed. For example:

Tired as I am, I try my best to help them. Although I am very tired, I try my best to help them.

2. In so ... that ... structure, if so+adj./adv is placed at the beginning of the sentence, the main sentence behind it should be partially inverted. For example:

It was so cold that we had to stay at home. It was so cold that we had to stay at home.

3.so/neither/nor said that the above situation also applies to the latter, and its sentence pattern is: so/nenot/nor+ special words+subject. Pay attention to the following points when making this sentence pattern: ① When the content is affirmative, use so, whether the content is timed, use never or nor；; ② "special words" are the same as modal verbs and auxiliary verbs or be in the previous sentence, or do, does and diddid are used according to the tense of the previous sentence; ③ The person of "special words" is consistent with the subject after it; ④ "Special words" have no negative form. For example:

You are young, I am young, you are young, I am young.

4. When "only ++ adverbial" is located at the beginning of a sentence, it is customary to use partial inversion after it. Among them, the adverbial of after only can be adverbs, prepositional phrases, clauses and so on.

Only in this way can we learn English. Only in this way can we learn English.

Only then did I understand what she meant. Only then did I understand what she meant.

Only by shouting can he make his voice heard. Only by shouting can you hear his voice.

Note that when the adverbial after only is a clause, the clause should not be inverted, but the main clause should be partially inverted. For example:

Only when it rains will you feel cool. I feel cool only when it rains.

5. Not only … but also … when connecting the two sentences before and after, the latter sentence should not only be partially inverted, but also the latter clause need not be inverted. For example:

Not only did he come, but he also met her. Not only did he come, but he also met her.

6. According to English habits, when negative words such as never, hardy, selly, little, worry, not until, not, no, no behavior, Never, and no circulations are placed at the beginning of a sentence, they should be partially inverted. For example:

I never saw him again. I never saw him again.

I never dreamed that the girl was my niece. I never dreamed that the girl was my niece.

modal verb

1. Find out the basic grammatical features.

Modal verbs are verbs that express the tone of speech or modality. Common modal verbs are can, may, must, need, dare, shall, will, should, should, must, use, best, and so on. Modal verbs have the following three characteristics:

(1) Modal verbs are followed by verb prototypes, which together form predicates.

(2) Modal verbs change in tense, but not in person and number, that is, modal verbs will not use different forms because of the difference of person or singular and plural subjects.

(3) When it becomes a question or a negative sentence, there is no need for an auxiliary verb. Instead, you move the modal verb to the subject and turn it into a question, and directly add not after the modal verb to form a negative sentence.

2. Find out the usage of can/could, and be able to express your ability.

(1) can means to have a certain ability or skill, which means "yes, yes". For example:

Who can answer this question? Who can answer this question?

(2) the past tense of 2)can is could, but it usually only means the general ability in the past, not the ability in specific occasions in the past. In this case, we should use was[were]capable. For example:

I can run faster then. I can run faster then.

They can jump into the sea before the ship is blown up. They jumped into the sea before the ship exploded.

3. Find out the usage of can/could/may/may/must for permission.

Can/could/may/might can all indicate permission, but May focuses on the speaker's permission, while Can focuses on the objective situation. The tone of could/might is more polite than can/may; Can/may, not could/might means to allow others to do something. For example:

May I use it? Can I borrow it?

Yes, you can. Yes (Not possible/possible)

Must means you must do something, and its negative word must not means "no" For example:

We can't talk about it anymore. Let's never talk about it again.

4. find out the usage of can/may/could/may/should/must.

(1) Judging from the sentence patterns used: can is used for negative sentences and interrogative sentences, and may is used for positive sentences and negative sentences, both of which can be used for negative sentences, but their meanings are different (can = impossible, may not= probably not); Could, might and should can be used in affirmative sentences, negative sentences and interrogative sentences; Must indicates that speculation is usually only used in affirmative sentences. For example:

She can't be in the office now. She can't be in the office now.

She may not be available tonight. She may not be available tonight.

He may come tonight. He may come tonight.

Could he possibly know? Will he know about it?

(2) From the tone, the tone of can/may/could/might is uncertain, especially the meaning of might and could. When should means speculation, its tone is more positive, usually referring to very possible things, and suggesting that its speculation is based on certain facts or reasonable; It must mean that the tone of speculation is the most positive. Note that sometimes the college entrance examination will make different propositions in this tone, such as the following college entrance examination question:

"When can I pick up the photos? I want it tomorrow afternoon. " "They should be ready before 12:00."

A. it may be necessary.

Of the four options, A and D can be excluded first, because they are usually not used in affirmative sentences; Both b and c can be used in affirmative sentences to express speculation, but according to the sentence meaning: customers want photos in the afternoon, and at this time the shopkeeper obviously uses should with a positive tone, rather than might with a very uncertain tone, otherwise the customers will not be satisfied.

5. find out the usage of shall and will

(1) shall can be used not only in the first person to express the pure future, but also in the second and third person statements to express the speaker's intention, warning, command, determination, etc. For example:

You will get an answer by tomorrow. You can get an answer by tomorrow.

He will get a bike as a birthday present. He can get a bike as a birthday present.

(2) Will can express habits and tendencies, meaning "get used to it, always, eventually", such as:

The door won't open. The door won't open.

If the match goes out, it won't strike. The match won't strike when it is wet.

I (we) can ... can be used for soliciting opinions, etc. , you will ... can be used to express requests or invitations, etc. For example:

May I turn on the light? Do you want to turn on the light?

Would you like to have dinner with us? Can you go to dinner with us?

6. Find out the usage of "must".

The modal verb must can sometimes express stubbornness, extremes or accidents, and can usually be translated as "unluckily". For example:

After I gave her advice, she had to do the opposite. After I gave her advice, she did the opposite.

Hardly had we started our holiday when the car broke down. Hardly had we started our holiday when the car broke down.

7. the usage points of 7.need and dare

Need and dare can be used as notional verbs and modal verbs. When used as a notional verb, the infinitive should be used after the verb. Some people say that the change of sum number can be used in affirmative sentences, negative sentences and interrogative sentences. When used as a modal verb, it is mainly used in negative sentences and interrogative sentences. The person and number have not changed, and the verbs behind them should be the prototype of verbs. For example:

You don't have to pay, it's free. You don't have to pay, it's free.

We need a lot of patience.

Who dares to tell him? Who dares to tell him?

He is afraid to go there at night. He is afraid to go there at night.

How dare you ask me such a question? How dare you ask me such a question?

Note: need means "need", which can be followed by gerund. Passive meaning should be expressed in active form. For example:

The room needs cleaning. This room needs cleaning.

8. Understand the usage of "modal verb+perfect"

(1)must+had done: used in affirmative sentences, indicating speculation, meaning "must (have) ...".

(2) can+have done: used in negative sentences or interrogative sentences, indicating speculation, meaning "maybe (have) ...".

(3)could+had do: it can be used in affirmative sentences, negative sentences or interrogative sentences to express speculation, blame or regret, meaning "maybe …", "could have …" and "should have …".

(4)should[ should ]+had do: It can be used in affirmative sentences, negative sentences or interrogative sentences to express blame or regret, meaning "it should have been ...".

(5) need+have done: used in negative sentences or interrogative sentences, it means "originally unnecessary" when used in negation, and "necessary …" when used in interrogative sentences.

(6)may+had done: used in affirmative or negative sentences, indicating speculation, meaning "may (have) ...".

(7) maybe+have done: used in affirmative or negative sentences, indicating speculation, meaning "maybe (already) ... (At this time, maybe can be changed to May); In addition, it can also mean that what may have happened in the past did not happen, which means "it happened long ago" (at this time, may cannot be changed to May).

He can't have left so soon. He can't have left so early.

I should have thought of that. I should have thought of that.

You don't need it. You don't need to mention it

You must have misunderstood my intention.

I may have come to the wrong conclusion.

You could have helped me-why did you just sit and watch? You could have helped me. Why did you just sit and watch?

9. Understand the usage of "modal verb+progressive aspect"

This structure is mainly used to speculate, blame and describe an ongoing action. For example:

He may be waiting for you. He may be waiting for you (www.yygrammar.com).

You should put on your sunglasses. You should put on your sunglasses.

He must be joking, otherwise he is crazy. He must be joking, otherwise he is crazy.

10. Make clear the usage of may [might] and may [might] well.

(1) may be used to make suggestions, etc. It can be translated as "might as well" (the tone is more euphemistic when using powery) For example:

Catherine, you can come too. Catherine, you'd better go

In that case, I might as well try. In that case, I might as well try.

(2)May[ maybe] well can indicate a relatively safe guess, which means "probably". For example:

You are probably right. You may be right.

P.s. The above knowledge points should be complete. There are too many examples, so you can delete O(∩_∩)O~~