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Giorgia
At no time, was I informed and little did he know.
That's strange order auxiliary-subject!
I found them in a on-line test.
What does it mean? When can I use it?
Oct 2, 2015 2:23 PM
Answers · 4
These are examples of inversion.
'At no time' is followed by an inversion of the verb and subject. A similar phrase which requires an inversion is 'Under no circumstances'. Whatever comes after these phrases, the next word has to be a verb - either a modal or auxiliary verb. I think it's a relic of the Germanic roots of the language.
'Little did I know' is a set phrase, which only varies slightly. You could say 'Little did I suspect', and you can also change the subject, e.g. 'Little did we know', 'Little did they suspect'. It's best to think of this as a fixed expression, though, because it doesn't work with most verbs.
October 2, 2015
Thank you. I found it in that way :/
October 2, 2015
there should not be a comma after "time"
October 2, 2015
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Giorgia
Language Skills
English, German, Italian
Learning Language
English, German
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