English Grammar Test C1 (Advanced)

When a negative adverb such as never starts the sentence, the auxiliary comes before the subject, as in a question: Never have I seen… Without inversion the sentence is ungrammatical.

Not only at the start of a clause triggers inversion. With the verb be, the subject and be swap places: Not only was he late… Did he would need a main verb after it.

Hardly … when describes one past event happening right after another. It uses inversion with the past perfect: Hardly had we left the house when…

After verbs like recommend, suggest and insist + that, American English uses the subjunctive: the base form of the verb for every subject (that he drink).

This is a what-cleft: What I need works as the subject and means “the thing that I need.” That and which cannot begin this kind of subject clause.

In an it-cleft (It was X who/that…), a person in focus is followed by who or that. Which is for things, and what cannot follow a noun here.

A perfect participle clause (having + past participle) shows that one action was completed before the next: she finished the report, then emailed it. Having been finished is passive, but she did the finishing.

The library did not build anything; it was built. A past participle clause (Built in 1890) has a passive meaning and describes the subject of the main clause.

In formal English, should can replace if at the start of a conditional: Should you need help = If you need help. Had and were are used in other types of inverted conditionals.

This is a third conditional with inversion: Had I known = If I had known. Standard English does not use would in the if clause.

The double comparative the + comparative…, the + comparative shows that two things change together: The more you practice, the more confident you become.

After passive reporting verbs (is believed, is said, is thought), use the perfect infinitive to have + past participle when the action happened before the time of reporting. Last year shows the loss is in the past.

If + were to + base verb describes an unlikely or imaginary future situation, so the main clause uses would: What would you buy first?

Despite is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun or an -ing form, never by a full clause or by of. With a full clause, use although: Although she had trained…

Much as means “although” and introduces a full clause: Much as I would like to help… Despite and in spite of need a noun or an -ing form, and even needs though.