Advanced Grammar Review
Complete the exercises online or print the worksheet for offline practice.
Exercise 1: Negative Inversion
Complete each sentence. After negative or restrictive adverbials (rarely, never, not only, under no circumstances), the auxiliary comes before the subject.
Rarely (I/see) such commitment from a new hire.
Not only (she/finish) the audit early, but she also found two errors.
Under no circumstances (passengers/may) open this door in flight.
No sooner (we/sit) down than the fire alarm went off.
Only after the funding was confirmed (the team/begin) hiring.
Seldom (the committee/reverse) a decision once it is published.
Little (he/know) that the interview was already decided.
Not until I reread the contract (I/notice) the cancellation fee.
Exercise 2: Cleft Sentences
Complete each cleft sentence to add emphasis. Use it-clefts (It was X that...) and wh-clefts (What X did was...).
The deadline worries me, not the workload. → It is the deadline worries me, not the workload.
She needs honest feedback. → she needs is honest feedback.
We met in Ottawa, not Toronto. → It was in Ottawa we met, not Toronto.
He resigned because of the culture, not the salary. → It was because of the culture he resigned.
The report changed their minds. → changed their minds was the report.
I simply asked a question. → All was ask a question.
Exercise 3: Mixed Conditionals
Complete each sentence. Mixed conditionals combine a past condition with a present result, or a present condition with a past result.
If I (take) that job in 2020, I would be living in Montreal now.
If she weren't so meticulous, she (miss) that error in the contract last week.
If we (not/sell) the house, we would still have a garden today.
If he spoke French, he (get) the Gatineau posting last year.
If they (invest) in training earlier, they wouldn't be short-staffed now.
I (be) fluent by now if I had started lessons when I arrived.
If you (not/be) so stubborn, you would have apologized years ago.
If the city had built the rail line in the nineties, commuting (be) far easier today.
Exercise 4: Fix the Advanced Structure
Each sentence misuses an advanced structure. Write the corrected sentence.
Never I have seen the office so quiet.
Not only she is bilingual, but she also codes.
It was John that were responsible for the schedule.
What does frustrate me is the lack of communication.
If I would have known about the strike, I would have left earlier.
Had I have seen the email, I would have replied.
Exercise 5: Choose the Most Precise Structure
Select the option that is both grammatical and most natural in formal English.
1.___ the results been different, we would have revised the policy.
2.___ you require further assistance, please contact our office.
3.___ it not for her mentorship, I would have left the field.
4.So persuasive ___ that the board approved it unanimously.
5.It was only when the invoice arrived ___ we noticed the surcharge.
6.Scarcely ___ the meeting begun when the power failed.
Exercise 6: Rewrite for Emphasis
Advanced structures exist to control emphasis. Use them deliberately, not decoratively.
Rewrite each plain sentence using the structure in brackets: 1) "I only understood the joke later." (it-cleft) 2) "She never complained once during the project." (inversion) 3) "You need patience to learn a language." (wh-cleft)
Write a short professional paragraph (four to six sentences) about a decision you regret or are proud of. Include one inversion, one cleft, and one mixed conditional.