Cambridge Proficiency CPE Use of English Inversion

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Cambridge Proficiency (CPE)- Use of English practice of inversion
Use of English Part Three word formation practice of inversion
Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space.
As in the real test, don’t leave the word unchanged, check for negatives/ opposites, make
sure the word makes sense in context, and be suspicious of answers which seem to easy.

Under no _______________ must you mix the green and yellow liquids. CIRCUMSTANCE

Little did he __________________________ how expensive it would turn out to be. REAL

Not until I got home did I __________ that I was wearing someone else’s coat. MEMORY

No _____________ was the pie put out to cool than it was stolen from the window. SOON

We never would have ___________________ had it not been for peanuts. SURVIVAL

Not only _________________ he possess a Rolls Royce, but he has a chauffeur too. DO

So _________________ was the advertising campaign that it became an ironic hit. IDIOT

____________________ after he had eliminated all his enemies could he feel safe. LONE

At no _____________________________ should American English be used. TIMING

Should you have any problems, ______________________ do not hesitate to contact me.
PLEASURE

Such is the current ________________ that the top 1% owns 90% of the country. EQUAL

____________________________________ had we seen such a wonderful feast. HARD

On no ______________________________________ must we raise our voices. COUNT

Not for a ______________________________ had I swallowed his story. MOMENTARILY

________________________________ else will you find such rare soul records. WHERE

_____________________________ are such high prices paid for such dull art. RARE

________________________________ was there any chance for redemption. SCARCE

______________________ had I started my career when my job became obsolete. BARE

You are not right about this, but then again ______________________ is he. EITHER

You don’t have the legal right to do this and, in my humble opinion, ________________ do
you have the moral right. OR

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 1

Suggested answers
Under no circumstances must you mix the green and yellow liquids. CIRCUMSTANCE

Little did he realise how expensive it would turn out to be. REAL

Not until I got home did I remember that I was wearing someone else’s coat. MEMORY

No sooner was the pie put out to cool than it was stolen from the window. SOON

We never would have survived had it not been for the peanuts. SURVIVAL

Not only does he possess a Rolls Royce, but he has a chauffeur too. DO

So idiotic was the advertising campaign that it became an ironic hit. IDIOT

Only after he had eliminated all his enemies could he feel safe. LONE

At no time should American English be used. TIMING

Should you have any problems, please do not hesitate to contact me. PLEASURE

Such is the current inequality that the top 1% owns 90% of the country. EQUAL

Hardly had we seen such a wonderful feast. HARD

On no account must we raise our voices. COUNT

Not for a moment had I swallowed his story. MOMENTARILY

Nowhere else will you find such rare soul records. WHERE

Rarely are such high prices paid for such dull art. RARE

Scarcely was there any chance for redemption. SCARCE

Barely had I started my career when my job became obsolete. BARE

You are not right about this, but then again neither is he. EITHER

You don’t have the legal right to do this and, in my humble opinion, nor do you have the
moral right. OR

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 2

Inversion Use of English Part Two open cloze

Read the sentences below and think of a word that best fits each space. Use only one
word in each space.

Under _____ circumstances should anyone leave the shelter until the all clear is sounded.

Little ___________________________ she know that the bank had already been emptied.

Not _______________________ I got home did I remember that I’d left my keys at work.

No _____________________ had I said the words than I instantly regretted speaking out.

Had _____ not been for the intervention of the referee, it would have turned into fisticuffs.

_______________________________________________ had I seen such a sight before.

Not ____________ did he leave the door unlocked, but he left all the windows open too.

__________ tragic was his fate that journalists came from all over the world to report on it.

______________________________ when the last rebel is killed will the slaughter stop.

Only under certain conditions ________ you withdraw over one million dollars at one time.

_____________________________________________ no time was he left unsupervised.

Such was the scandal ______________________________ the whole tour was cancelled.

Hardly had I stopped being a child _______________ I found that I had a child of my own.

So ____________________ cars were there that people took to picnicking on the street.

So ____________________________ information was there that rumours filled its place.

_________________________________ no account can we risk this information leaking.

Never _________________________________________ that change from this day forth.

Never ___________________________________ I seen such a disgusting-looking pizza.

Not _______________________________ a moment was it accepted by the employees.

Rarely _____________________________________ we so happy on a Monday morning.

_________________________ they to arrive now, it would be extremely embarrassing.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 3

Not _________________________ I moved to France had I experienced such rudeness.

Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I ______________________ never have believed it.

Not for _____________________________________ minute did she suspect her sister.

______________________________________________ no way was that a good plan.

Should you get lost, __________________________________________________ call.

Scarcely _____________________________________________ we survive the ordeal.

Seldom _________________________________________________ I felt such shame.

I wrote down every track that I wanted to play. Only ________ did I feel ready for the party.

Only ________ writing down every track that I wanted to play did I feel ready for the party.

________________________________ until every last thing has been tried will I give up.

Had it not been for the __________________ that he was my brother, I would have fired
him years earlier.

Not ________________________ I was a teenager have I felt so nervous about a date.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 4

Suggested answers

Under no circumstances should anyone leave the shelter until the all clear is sounded.

Little did she know that the bank had already been emptied.

Not until I got home did I remember that I’d left my keys at work.

No sooner had I said the words than I instantly regretted speaking out.

Had it not been for the intervention of the referee, it would have turned into fisticuffs.

Never/ Rarely had I seen such a sight before.

Not only did he leave the door unlocked, but he left all the windows open too.

So tragic was his fate that journalists came from all over the world to report on it.

Only when the last rebel is killed will the slaughter stop.

Only under certain conditions can/ should/ could you withdraw over one million dollars at
one time.

At no time was he left unsupervised.

Such was the scandal that the whole tour was cancelled.

Hardly had I stopped being a child than/ when I found that I had a child of my own.

So few cars were there that people took to picnicking on the street.

So little information was there that rumours filled its place.

On no account can we risk this information leaking.

Never will that change from this day forth.

Never have I seen such a disgusting-looking pizza.

Not for a moment was it accepted by the employees.

Rarely are/ were we so happy on a Monday morning.

Were they to arrive now, it would be extremely embarrassing.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 5

Not until I moved to France had I experienced such rudeness.

Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.

Not for a/ one minute did she suspect her sister.

In no way was that a good plan.

Should you get lost, please/ just call.

Scarcely could we survive the ordeal.

Seldom have/ had I felt such shame.

I wrote down every track that I wanted to play. Only then did I feel ready for the party.

Only after/ by writing down every track that I wanted to play did I feel ready for the party.

Not until every last thing has been tried will I give up.

Had it not been for the fact that he was my brother, I would have fired him years earlier.

Not since I was a teenager have I felt so nervous about a date.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 6

Inversion Use of English Part Four key word sentence transformations
For each question below, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between three and eight words, including the word given.
She had no idea that the company was suffering from severe financial difficulties. IN
Little _____________________________________________ severe financial difficulties.

I had been working there only a very short time when the company went bankrupt.
STARTED
No _________________________________________than the company went bankrupt.

We never would have survived if not for a dolphin helping. HAD
We never would have survived _________________________________ help of a dolphin.

He spread rumours about me and wrote them on the bathroom wall too. DID
Not ___________________________________ he wrote them on the bathroom wall.

He had made such a nonsensical plan that everyone ridiculed him. WHAT
Everyone ridiculed him, so _______________________________________ planned.

The picnic was only able to start when he had killed the last wasp. COULD
Only _____________________________________________________ the picnic start.

You should never drink caffeine during pregnancy. WHILE
At no ________________________________________________________ are pregnant.

There was so much demand for the cherry pies that we had to bake twice as many pies as
usual. THE
We had to bake twice as many pies as usual, such __________________________ ones.

Because there were an extremely low number of objections, the trail finished in record
time. THAT
So _________________________________________ the trial finished in record time.

I have rarely felt the level of embarrassment that I did on that day. AS
Seldom ________________________________________________ I did on that day.

You won’t have such a Dutch experience anywhere outside of the Netherlands. WILL
Outside of the Netherlands, ____________________________ such a Dutch experience.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 7

Suggested answers
She had no idea that the company was suffering from severe financial difficulties. IN
Little did she realise/ know that the company was in severe financial difficulties.

I had been working there only a very short time when the company went bankrupt.
STARTED
No sooner had I started working there than the company went bankrupt.

We never would have survived if not for a dolphin helping. HAD
We never would have survived had it not been for the help of a dolphin.

He spread rumours about me and wrote them on the bathroom wall too. DID
Not only did he spread rumours about me, but he wrote them on the bathroom wall.

He had made such a nonsensical plan that everyone ridiculed him. WHAT
Everyone ridiculed him, so nonsensical was what he had planned.

The picnic was only able to start when he had killed the last wasp. COULD
Only after/ when he had killed the last wasp could the picnic start.

You should never drink caffeine during pregnancy. WHILE
At no time should you drink caffeine while you are pregnant.

There was so much demand for the cherry pies that we had to bake twice as many pies as
usual. THE
We had to bake twice as many pies as usual, such was the demand for the cherry
ones.

Because there were an extremely low number of objections, the trail finished in record
time. THAT
So few objections were there that the trial finished in record time.

I have rarely felt the level of embarrassment that I did on that day. AS
Seldom have/ had I felt as embarrassed as I did on that day.

You won’t have such a Dutch experience anywhere outside of the Netherlands. WILL
Outside of the Netherlands, nowhere will you have such a Dutch experience.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
p. 8