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Inversion & Despite

The document discusses the prepositions "despite" and "in spite of", noting that they mean the same thing but "despite" is more commonly used. It provides examples of their grammatical structures and usage. Exercises are also included asking the reader to rewrite sentences using the specified prepositions.

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146 views7 pages

Inversion & Despite

The document discusses the prepositions "despite" and "in spite of", noting that they mean the same thing but "despite" is more commonly used. It provides examples of their grammatical structures and usage. Exercises are also included asking the reader to rewrite sentences using the specified prepositions.

Uploaded by

Narresh18
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Despite and in spite of mean exactly the same, but despite is more common

than in spite of.

Despite and in spite of are prepositions. Both expressions can be followed


by a noun or noun-equivalent.

In spite of is written as three separate words. We never use of with despite:

1. Despite / in spite of+the fact that+ clause


EG: Despite the fact that it is so far, she intends to go.
2. Despite / in spite of+gerund ( when the subject of the sentence is the
same)
EG: Despite being very short, he managed to place the book on the
shelf.
3. Despite / in spite of+noun
EG: Despite the rain, we went to the party.
4. Despite / in spite of+subject+gerund(when the subject of both sentence is
different)
EG: despite it being so far, she intends to go

Exercise
1.The Mayor was very busy, but he came to give away the prizes. (Use despite)

2.in spite of all their efforts, the patient could not be saved.( use despite)

3.she sang well but did not win the prize.( in spite of )

4.in spite the terrible heat, people walked miles to pay respect to the Sanyasi.
( use despite)
5. Javeed was unwell but he sat for the examination. ( in spite of )

INVERSION

I. No sooner... than,
II. at once,
III. soon,
IV. scarcely,
V. hardly... when,

Exercise
1. As soon as my Friend explained( did + explain) the matter, I could
understand everything. ( Begin with no sooner )
Ans: No sooner did my friend explain the matter than I could understand
everything.
2. Jacob finished( did +finish) his speech. At once the audience stood up
and applauded. ( Begin with no sooner )
No sooner did Jacob finish his speech than the audience stood up and
applauded.
3. Scarcely has he started his exercise when he felt an illness. ( Begin with
no sooner )
No sooner has he started his exercise than he felt an illness.
( as per the rule the first part of the sentence in the past perfect tense is changed
into simple past tense.
4. Hardly had my wife come home when she presented me a birthday gift.
( Begin with no sooner )
No sooner did my wife come home than she presented me a birthday gift.
5. She read the telegram. She fainted at once. ( Begin with no sooner )
 No sooner did she read the telegram than she fainted.

EXERCISE
1. The thieves saw the police. They ran away at once. ( Begin with no
sooner )
2. The child started crying. His mother lifted him up at once. ( Begin with
no sooner )
3. I went to bed. Soon I fell asleep. ( Begin with no sooner )
4. I took a dose of the medicine. Soon I started feeling better. ( Begin with
no sooner )
5. He reached the bus station. The bus came at once. ( Begin with no sooner
)
6. The driver saw the signal. He applied the brake at once. ( Begin with no
sooner )

II. No sooner.. than …


Hardly/scarcely/barely …when..
is used in the meaning of As soon as…but when the sentence starts with
them, that part is used in “invertion“ like the question form and in the past
perfect tense.
Examples:
1.As soon as I entered the room, I noticed her.
No sooner had I entered the room  than I noticed her.
Hardly had I entered the room when I noticed her.

2.As soon as he approached the house, the policeman stopped him.


No sooner had he approached the house than the policeman stopped him .
Hardly had he approached the house when the policeman stopped him.
Rewrite using the words in brackets:

1.As soon as he went into the bank, one of the robbers attacked him.(No
sooner…than..)

2.She fell asleep as soon as she lay down.(Hardly..when..)

3.As soon as he stepped into the bathroom, the cell phone rang.(No sooner …
than..)

4.He read the reading passage first. Immediately after that he answered the
questions.(Hardly…when…)
( Begin with no sooner )
5.As soon as he saw her , he recognised her.(No sooner… than…)

III. NEVER, RARELY, LITTLE, IN / UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES,


ON NO CONDITION, IN NO WAY, NOT ONLY ... BUT ALSO etc.
When never, rarely, little etc. are placed at the beginning of the sentence for
rhetorical effect, the subject and auxiliary are inverted:
1.Never (before) have we faced such a challenge! (We have never faced such a
challenge!)
2.Rarely has there been so much speculation about the future of the
company. (There has rarely been so much speculation about the future of the
company.)
3.Little did she understand what the conversation was about. (She didn't really
understand what the conversation was about.)
4.Under no circumstances are you allowed to disturb the pilots. (You are not
allowed to disturb the pilots under any circumstances.)
TOO…TO AND SO…THAT

A phrase can be expanded into a clause. In the same way, a clause can be contracted into a
phrase. Thus we have seen that the form of a sentence can be changed without changing its
meaning. The transformation can be done using several different methods.

For example a simple sentence containing the adverb too can be transformed into a complex
sentence containing so…that with no difference in meaning.

Study the following sentences.


The news is too good to be true.
The news is so good that it cannot be true.
.

The tea was too hot to drink.


The tea was so hot that I could not drink it. OR The tea was so hot that it could not be drunk.

The bag was too heavy for me to lift.


The bag was so heavy that I could not lift it.

Notes
If the adverb too is followed by an adjective + to infinitive, we expand the sentence into two
clauses, the first containing so and the second containing that.

If the sentence containing too…to is in the affirmative, the sentence containing so…that will
be in the negative.

Combine the following sentences using too…to.


An example is given below.
 She is too young. She cannot live on her own.
 She is too young to live on her own.
Exercise
1. He is poor. He cannot buy books.
He is too poor to buy books.
2. He is a good man. He will not offend anyone.
He is too good to offend anyone.
3. The minister is busy. He cannot see you now.
The minister is too busy to see you now
4. He was tired. He could not even stand up.
He was too tired to sand up.
5. Your grades are very low. You cannot get admission
in a prestigious college.
6. Your grades are too low to get admission in a
prestigious college.
7.His salary is too small to pay off his debts.
{Use so…that}
His salary is so small that he cannot ( can’t
should not write this way) pay off his debts.
8.My father was old to climb the steps.
{Use so…that}
9.The passenger was too late to catch the train.
{Use so…that}10
10. I was too absorbed in my work to hear the
doorbell. {Use so…that}
11. These cars were too expensive to buy them.
{Use so…that}

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