13 structures · CEFR B2–C2
English emphasis and inversion
These are the structures that put the weight where you want it: cleft sentences ("what I need is time"), inversion after a negative ("never have I seen"), fronting, and emphatic "do". None of them is necessary to be understood; all of them are what separates correct English from persuasive English, which is why they matter in an interview, a presentation or a written argument.
Common emphasis & advanced mistakes
Every one of these is a sentence Indian-English speakers genuinely produce — not a textbook example.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
Never I have seen that. | Never have I seen that. After a fronted negative, the helper comes before the subject. Inversion & emphasis → |
It was John which called you. | It was John who called you. John is a person, so the joining word is "who" or "that". It was John who… → |
What I need is to going home. | What I need is to go home. After "is" the form is "to go", not "to going". What I need is… → |
I do understood your point. | I do understand your point. After "do" the verb goes back to its plain form. I do understand → |
That film, I did not liked it. | That film, I did not like. Fronting moves the object to the front — it should not also be left at the end. Fronting → |
No sooner I reached, when it started raining. | No sooner had I reached than it started raining. "No sooner" needs an inversion and takes "than", not "when". No sooner… than · Hardly… when → |
I suggest that he goes immediately. | I suggest that he go immediately. In this formal pattern the verb takes no -s. I suggest that he be… → |
The sales are decreasing because of the new policy. | The sales appear to be decreasing, possibly because of the new policy. Without a hedge this states a cause you have not proved. seem, tend to, appear → |
All 13 emphasis & advanced structures
Grouped by CEFR band so you can start where you actually are, rather than at the top.
B2 · Confident
2 structures at this level.
C1 · Fluent
7 structures at this level.
- Inversion & emphasisC1Put a negative first, for weight
- It was John who…C1Point at exactly which part of a sentence matters
- What I need is…C1Build up to your point instead of opening with it
- FrontingC1Choose what your sentence opens with
- No sooner… than · Hardly… whenC1Say one thing happened immediately after another, formally
- I suggest that he be…C1Write a formal recommendation correctly
- seem, tend to, appearC1Make a claim you can defend
C2 · Mastery
4 structures at this level.
Dimmed tiles are structures whose example bank is still being written. The explanation and the mistake are there; the sentences are not, yet.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns emphasis & advanced into practice you can actually do: a Hindi sentence, your English answer, and one correction at a time.
Practise this, free →