Negative Inversion — Little Did He Know (C1)

Your task

Fill in the gap in each sentence with the correct word or phrase.

0 / 15 answered

Your score

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Keep practising! Focus on the explanations below.

Little that his life was about to change forever. (he / know)

Correct answer: did he know

Fronted "Little" triggers do-support inversion: "did he know". Statement order ("he knew") ignores the inversion, and the verb stays in base form after "did".

Not only the contract, but they also missed the deadline. (they / lose)

Correct answer: did they lose

"Not only" fronted forces inversion: "did they lose". The base verb follows "did", so "did they lost" is wrong; the second clause then adds "but ... also".

At no time that the data had been manipulated. (the witness / admit)

Correct answer: did the witness admit

"At no time" is a negative adverbial that triggers inversion: "did the witness admit". Statement order ("the witness admitted") would be ungrammatical here.

Little how much their support meant to me at the time. (they / realize)

Correct answer: did they realize

Fronted "Little" triggers inversion: "did they realize". The base verb follows "did"; "did they realized" is a common error.

Not only the championship, but she also set a new world record. (she / win)

Correct answer: did she win

"Not only" fronted forces inversion: "did she win". The verb stays in base form after "did", so "did she won" is wrong.

At no time during the trial any sign of remorse. (the defendant / show)

Correct answer: did the defendant show

"At no time" triggers inversion: "did the defendant show". The base verb follows "did"; statement order would break the rule.

Little that we were being followed the whole time. (we / suspect)

Correct answer: did we suspect

Fronted "Little" triggers inversion: "did we suspect". The verb stays in base form after "did".

Not only for the mistake, but he also offered to pay for the damage. (he / apologize)

Correct answer: did he apologize

"Not only" fronted forces inversion: "did he apologize". The base verb follows "did"; the second clause adds "but ... also".

At no time that the product might be unsafe. (the company / acknowledge)

Correct answer: did the company acknowledge

"At no time" triggers inversion: "did the company acknowledge". The base verb follows "did"; statement order would be ungrammatical.

Little that the old house was said to be haunted. (the visitors / imagine)

Correct answer: did the visitors imagine

Fronted "Little" triggers inversion: "did the visitors imagine". The plural subject still takes "did" + base verb.

Not only sharply, but the quality of service also declined. (the prices / rise)

Correct answer: did the prices rise

"Not only" fronted forces inversion: "did the prices rise". The base verb follows "did"; "did the prices rose" is wrong.

At no time a complete breakdown of the talks. (the negotiators / want)

Correct answer: did the negotiators want

"At no time" triggers inversion: "did the negotiators want". The plural subject takes "did" + base verb.

Little how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful place. (they / realize)

Correct answer: do they realize

The present time frame ("they are ... to live") takes "do", not "did": "do they realize". The base verb follows the auxiliary.

Little that every word is being recorded for the inquiry. (the speaker / suspect)

Correct answer: does the speaker suspect

The present time frame plus a singular subject takes "does": "does the speaker suspect". Using "do" or "did" would mismatch number or tense.

Not only the deadline, but he also went over the agreed budget. (he / miss)

Correct answer: did he miss

"Not only" fronted forces inversion: "did he miss". The base verb follows "did"; keeping statement order ("he missed") or writing "did he missed" are the usual errors.

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