Inversion: So, Such, Only — Rhetoric's Long Game
Grammar: Inversion
Free ESL grammar exercise on inversion: so, such, only themed around rhetoric's long game. Printable worksheet from EnglishPlans.com.
What's on this worksheet
A Business English ESL grammar exercise on business, practising inversion. The worksheet has a short reading excerpt, a grammar reference and graded practice items.
From the reading
So compelling was Cicero's use of tricolon that Roman senators reportedly wept in the chamber. Churchill understood that only by mastering rhythm could a speaker hold a hostile audience. Such was the influence of Susan Cain's 2012 talk that publishers reported a surge in related book sales within forty-eight hours. Only by doing so did they stop presenting and start persuading.
Grammar: Inversion
- So + adj/adv + that
- So powerful was her argument that the panel reversed its decision. — inversion after so for dramatic emphasis
- Such + noun phrase +
- Such was the impact of the speech that the room fell silent. — such fronts a noun, no subject–verb flip needed
Sample items
- ______ the cadence of the speech that investors leaned forward instinctively.
- ______ the impact of the tricolon that the phrase was quoted in three separate reviews.
- Only when the antithesis landed ______ the audience finally understand the stakes.
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