Content tagged with "emphasis"

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Present perfect with superlative forms of adjectives

The present perfect is used with superlative forms of adjectives to express emphasis:

This is the first time I have been to the Philippines.
This is the worst film I have ever seen.

Subject-auxiliary inversion after SO + adverb / adjective and SUCH

When adverbial or adjectival phrases starting with so are placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphatic effect, the subject and auxiliary are inverted:

Subject-verb inversion after place adverbials

When an adverb or an adverbial expression of place comes in the initial position (at the beginning of the sentence), the subject and verb are inverted:

The auxiliaries DO and DOES for emphasis

In the present simple, the auxiliaries do and does (in the third person singular) followed by the bare infinitive form of the main verb can be used in affirmative sentences to express emphasis. In speech, the auxiliary is stressed:

The auxiliary DID for emphasis

In the past simple, the auxiliary did followed by the bare infinitive form of the main verb can be used in affirmative sentences to express emphasis. In speech, the auxiliary is stressed:

The TO-infinitive in non-finite relative clauses

The to-infinitive is often used in non-finite defining relative clauses after ordinal numbers (the first, the second etc.), superlatives (the best, the most beautiful etc.) and after next, last and only:

WISH / IF ONLY

We can make second and third conditionals more emphatic by placing only after if:

If (only) I knew the answer, I'd tell you.
If (only) I had revised more, I would have done better on my exam.

If only can be replaced with I wish, and the main clause can be omitted:

I wish I knew the answer.
I wish I had revised more.

Patterns introduced with I wish... are used to express wishes about the present, past and future.

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