Stylistic inversion

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Gone is the comfortable assumption that well-being is simply a matter of accumulating good moments. Such is the paradox at the heart of Kahneman's most unsettling finding. Seldom does empirical science land so directly on philosophical prescription as it does here.

Grammar Reference · Stylistic inversion

Fronted predicative

Gone is the comfortable assumption that happiness accumulates. — subject follows predicative adjective/past participle for emphasis

Such / So inversion

Such is the paradox that even philosophers hesitate. — fronted such or so inverts subject and verb for rhetorical punch

Anaphoric inversion

Seldom does empirical science land so directly on philosophy. — restrictive adverb fronted; auxiliary before subject for dramatic weight

Common error

Such is ✓ — Such the paradox is ✗ — inversion means verb precedes subject; never insert the

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Stylistic inversion

1. any certainty that the experiencing self governs our choices. (fronted predicative: 'Gone')

2. the power of hedonic adaptation that a pay rise becomes invisible within months.

3. does equanimity feel as elusive as it does when a psychologist hands you data.

4. overwhelmed is the remembering self by the peak moment that it rewrites the entire experience.

5. the paradox of affective forecasting: we predict badly, yet keep predicting.

6. have philosophers been so directly challenged by empirical findings as in the last thirty years.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.The age of simple self-help answers is over.

2.The evidence is so compelling that even Stoics must take notice.

3.Philosophy has rarely faced such a direct empirical challenge.

4.The paradox is such that no clean resolution seems available.

5.We seldom recognise hedonic adaptation while it is happening.

6.The illusion of affective control has never been more thoroughly dismantled.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Stylistic inversion01EnglishPlans.com