Fronting and emphasis

Rules

• Rule 1: Much as + subject + verb (= although)

  Much as means “although” and is used mainly with feeling verbs (love, like, want, admire, enjoy). Never ~~Very much as~~ or ~~So much as~~.

  Pattern: Much as + subject + verb, … (contrast)

  Example: Much as I enjoy camping, I hate mosquitoes.

  Example: Much as she wanted a puppy, her apartment was too small.

• Rule 2: Adjective / adverb + as / though

  Put an adjective or adverb first, then as or though, then subject + verb. No so / very before it. Similar patterns: Try as + subject + might, and Strange / Surprising as it may seem.

  Pattern: Adjective / adverb + as / though + subject + verb · Try as + subject + might

  Example: Small as it is, our village has a great library.

  Example: Fast as he ran, he couldn't catch the bus.

• Rule 3: Emphatic do / does / did

  To strengthen a positive statement, correct someone or insist politely, use do / does / did + base verb. It's stressed in speech. It also works in imperatives: Do sit down!

  Pattern: subject + do / does / did + base verb

  Example: I did feed the fish! Look, the food is gone.

  Example: She does play the piano well, doesn't she?

• Rule 4: Negative adverbials first → inversion

  After Never, Rarely, Little, Only after / Only when, Under no circumstances, Not only, Hardly at the start, use auxiliary + subject. So + adjective and Such can also be fronted with inversion.

  Pattern: Little / Only after … / Under no circumstances + auxiliary + subject · So + adjective + be + subject + that

  Example: Little did we know that the box contained a kitten.

  Example: So heavy was the suitcase that two of us had to carry it.

• Rule 5: Fronting place/direction and cleft sentences

  In stories, fronting a place or direction word can put the verb before a noun subject: Here comes the bus!, Down came the rain., Gone are the days … (With a pronoun, no inversion: *Here it comes*.) Cleft sentences also add focus: It was … who / that …, What I need is …, All I want is ….

  Pattern: Here / There / Down / Up + verb + noun subject · It was … that · What … is

  Example: Out jumped the cat from the laundry basket!

  Example: What I love about spring is the smell of blossom.

Common mistakes

• So tired as he was, he kept walking. → Tired as he was, he kept walking.

  No so / very before the adjective.

• Tried as she might, she failed. → Try as she might, she failed.

  Even in a past story, the phrase starts with bare Try: Try as … might.

• Little we knew about the surprise. → Little did we know about the surprise.

  Little first → inversion.