NO SOONER...THAN/HARDLY...WHEN

HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER oth 'No Sooner…Than' and 'Hardly…When' are used to mean exactly the same. It is when something has happened just before something else. The first of the actions, expressed with 'no sooner' or 'hardly', has happened right before the part after 'than' or 'when'.B One thing to remember with these constructions is never to use 'when' with 'no sooner' or 'than' with 'hardly'. No sooner is clearly a comparative construction and has to be followed by 'than' as in any comparative form. You can replace 'hardly' with 'scarcely' or ‘barely’. Examples: Here are a few examples for you to understand them better. These constructions are rarely used in the present or future tense. But I have included some examples to understand them better. No sooner had we arrived at the station than the announcement started. No sooner does Max arrive than the class starts. No sooner will the bell ring than the feast will start tomorrow. Hardly had we arrived at the station when the announcement started. Scarcely had Jake finished the book report when Alan came in. 23. ______ he arrived at the bus stop when the bus came. A. Hardly had B. No sooner had C. No longer has D. Not until had (TRÍCH ĐỀ THI DẠI HỌC NĂM 2009) Mã Đề 469 o sooner than … or 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 “invention“ like the question form and in the past perfect tense. N Examples: 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. 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. hen telling a story in the past time, if an event quickly follows another, these adverbials and partial inversion is used to express the first event. In the inverted clause usually past perfect is used. With no sooner … than, however, we can also use simple past. W Hardly had I arrived home when the telephone rang. (= I had hardly arrived home when the telephone rang.) Page 1 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER Scarcely had she finished reading when she fell asleep. (= She had scarcely finished reading when she fell asleep.) Barely had they won the match when the coach had a heart attack. (= They had barely won the match when the coach had a heart attack.) No sooner had the company launched its new product than it went bankrupt. (= The company had no sooner launched its new product than it went bankrupt.) No sooner did they realize that they had made a mistake than the company went bankrupt. (= They no sooner realized that they had made a mistake than the company went bankrupt.) It may be difficult to memorise when it is when and when it is than. If so, remember that sooner is the comparative form of soon and in comparisons we use than. This type of inversion is basically a comparison. No sooner had I opened one doll than I found another one nested in it. 1 No sooner had I entered home than the bellrang. 2 Hardly had I entered home when the bell rang. EXERCISES 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…)  5.As soon as he saw her , he recognised her.(No sooner… than…)  Answers: 1.No sooner had he gone into the bank than one of teh robbers attacked him. 2.Hardly had she lain down when she fell asleep. 3.No sooner has she stepped into the bathroom than the cell phone rang. 4.Hardly had he read the reading passage when he answered the questions. 5.No sooner had he seen her than he recognised her. Reformulate the following sentences using inversion. Example : She at no time said she was vegetarian. At no time did she say (that) she was vegetarian. Page 2 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER I had hardly begun to apologize when the door closed .  I have seldom heard such a talented singer.  If John had known that she liked curry, he would have brought her to an Indian restaurant.  The artist rarely paid any attention to his agent's advice.  He had never felt so depressed  The shop can in no way be held responsible for customers' lost property.  The couple had no sooner arrived than the priest started the ceremony.  Tom only understood the meaning of the comment when he saw his wife's face.  She never at any time said that she was allergic to cats.  The restaurant cannot accept animals under any circumstances  Answers: Hardly had I begun to apologize when the door closed. Seldom have I heard such a talented singer. Had John known that she liked curry, he would have brought her to an Indian restaurant. Rarely did the artist pay attention to his agent's advice. Never had he felt so depressed. In no way can the shop be held responsible for customers' lost property. No sooner had the couple arrived than the priest started the ceremony. Only when he saw his wife's face did Tom realize the meaning of the comment. Never at any time had she said (that) she was allergic to cats. Under no circumstances can the restaurant accept animals. Inversions in English: Fullspate Grammar Lesson hat is an inversion? In general, an "inversion" is a changed order of things. If X usually comes before Y, the inverted order will be Y first, then X. When looking at the grammar of the English language we see inversions for instance in the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence. To explain what an inversion is in English, first think of a simple sentence like: "Graffiti is ugly." In sentences like this the subject (graffiti) must come before the verb (is). This is the normal order. The most common example of the inverted order of the subject and the verb is seen in questions such as: "Is graffiti ugly?" The English language often uses this kind of W Page 3 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER inversion to make a question, but this is not the only time that the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence is inverted. In the ECPE grammar section there will be a few questions where you have to spot the correct order of the words. Sometimes an inversion is needed; sometimes not. 1 Questions and sentences that might look like questions The ECPE grammar section might try to trick you with a sentence that might look like a question when it isn't. They are bound to ask us _____. a. if has been cancelled the order b. why the order was cancelled c. why did we cancel the order d. the reason to be cancelled the order We need "why" to complete this sentence but option c is wrong because this sentence is not a question (so we don't want the inverted verb-subject word order). The correct answer is b. Don't be caught out by longer questions that have the inversion in an initial phrase such as: "Could you tell me " "Would you mind " etc. If there is an inversion at the beginning like this, there won't be another inversion in the main part of the sentence. For example: Would you be so kind as to tell me where the money is? (Not " where is the money") And don't be caught out by sentences used to make enquiries that are not really questions. "I wonder if you could tell me when the next train to Houston is due." (Not " when is the next train to Houston due") 2 Inversions with "so", "neither" and "nor" When "so", "neither" and "nor" are used to make short agreements they are followed by an inversion. "I am not into hip hop." "Neither am I." (Or: "Nor am I.") "I am fond of flamenco dancing." "So am I." Or they can be used in the following way (also including an inversion). Page 4 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER Jennifer buys only organic fruit and vegetables, and so does Hugh. They don't mind the higher prices, and neither do we. (Or: nor do we.) 3 Inversions after negative adverbials There are some words and phrases that function as adverbials that sometimes need an inversion. Look at these two sentences. Bob rarely speaks to himself. Rarely does Bob speak to himself. The adverb here is "rarely". If it comes after the subject, there is no inversion (as in the first sentence), but if it comes before the subject, we need an inversion. The word order is inverted and in the case of the sentence about Bob we use the auxilliary verb "does" in the same way we do in questions (although this isn't a question). The sentence with the inversion sounds more formal or more literary, and sentences like this are less common in ordinary conversation. Here are some examples with other phrases used in the same way. Seldom does Bob get invited to parties. (seldom = rarely) Never have we seen such a breathtaking view. At no time did the prisoner look as if he might confess. Not only is she a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician. Not until she took up rock climbing did she overcome her fear of heights. Under no circumstances* will prisoners be allowed to give interviews to the media. Little** did she realize that her grandmother was really a wolf. * This is used to describe rules for which there are no exceptions. The alternative without the inversion is: Prisoners will not be allowed to give interviews to the media under any circumstances. ** This means that the girl didn't realize at all that her grandmother was really a wolf. N.B. Remember that no inversion is possible if the adverbial doesn't come before the subject. Compare the following sentences with the corresponding sentences above. She is not only a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician. It was not until Effie left Brooklyn that she realized how attached she had become to the place. The following three are used to describe an event that happened immediately after another. Page 5 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER Hardly had he stepped outside when it started to rain. Scarcely had he stepped outside when it started to rain. No sooner had he stepped outside than it started to rain. Note that the past perfect tense is used to describe the event that happened first. The following sentences with "only" include inversions. Note that it is not always the first verb that is inverted. Only after he arrived at the airport did he look for his passport. Only if you look through this dark glass will you be able to see the spots on the sun. We accepted the invitation. Only later did we suspect it might be a trap. Only by threatening extreme physical violence was the teacher able to control the class. Note that there is no inversion when "only" is used in the following way. Only Fiona knew the answer to the question. 3 Conditionals with inversions In conditional (hypothetical) sentences we can sometimes drop "if" and use an inversion. Should you see Nigel, give him my regards. Were I in your shoes, I would make a formal complaint. Had I known it was her birthday, I would have bought her a gift. Note that "should", "were" and "had" are the only verbs that can be inverted in this way. (And "were" is also used with he, she and it.) 4 Inversions with "as" Elisabeth was too shy to dance, as was Gerald. She decided to leave early, as did Gerald. In these sentences "as" indicates the similarity between two things. 5 Inversions with "so" and "such" So excited were they that they couldn't sit still. Such was their excitement that they began to jump up and down. Page 6 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER Note that "so" is followed by an adjective and "such" can be replaced by "so great" (So great was their excitement that ). 6 Inversions after adjectives A few very literary sentences begin with an adjective and include an inversion. Blessed are the children who are still unaware of what the future holds. Gone* are the days when I could have been happy. * Here the past participle is used like an adjective. However there is no inversion in the following sentence. Strange as it may seem, we were sorry to leave in the end. Page 7 HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER Page 8 . 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. As soon as he approached the house, the policeman stopped him. No sooner. station when the announcement started. Scarcely had Jake finished the book report when Alan came in. 23. ______ he arrived at the bus stop when the bus came. A. Hardly had B. No sooner had C. No. examples to understand them better. No sooner had we arrived at the station than the announcement started. No sooner does Max arrive than the class starts. No sooner will the bell ring than the