• What do we mean by Emphatic Forms?

Unit 11 – Presentation 1

“the devices we use to stress or highlight one or more terms of a sentence in order to achieve certain effects”• How many main categories of Emphasis are

there?3: CASE I: All other terms, and the interrogative verb CASE II: i) the Positive Verb, ii) the Negative Verb CASE III: the Place Adverbs/ Adverbials (& certain onomatopoeic verbs)

It is/ was/ will be + emphasised term + who (for person-subjects) OR that +

remaining sentence

a) All the other terms in a sentence (NOT the verb) are emphasised using:

e.g. Was it in the afternoon that … ?When was it that … ?

b) Can be extended to the interrogative verb, with or without a question word/ phrase:

e.g. What gets on my nerves is your impertinence! (subject)

I didn’t take in all that he said. (object)

c) We add emphasis to various syntactic terms using noun clauses with ‘what/ all’:

Adjective Example nounsvery day, essence, existence, reason, wordsheer boredom, bulk/ volume, folly, luck, magnitude,

willpowersole aim, criterion, exception, reason, survivormere chance, coincidence, handful, mention, technicalitybare essentials, facts, minimum, necessityultimate aim/ goal, example, penalty, solution, truthutmost care, degree, importance, precision, secrecyutter boredom, chaos, despair, loneliness, madnessconsiderable accomplishment, appeal, coverage, growth,

momentumsubstantial amount, contribution, difference, increase, meal

d) Emphasise nouns with special adjectives & adj.’s/ verbs with special adverbs (I)

Adverb Example collocatesmost interesting, welcome, hatefulabsolutely

amazing, breathtaking, certain, clear, determined, freezing

utterly baffled, brilliant, exhausting, sincere, worthlessmerely adequate, symbolic, theoreticalsolely aim, rely, confine/ dependent, responsible

d) Emphasise nouns with special adjectives & adj.’s/ verbs with special adverbs (II)

e) Employ a number of other techniques, like:

a) repetitione.g. Do it again and again until you’ve got the

hang of it. b) articles e.g. Not the Tesla, right?c) individual adverbs & adverb phrases e.g. whatsoever, in the world/ on earth, indeed, etc

do/ does/ did + positive verb–infinitive

i) Positive Verb: auxiliary do/ does/ did. Only possible in Present & Past Simple tenses & positive Imperative, i.e.

negative verb/ phrase + auxiliary + subject

ii.a) Negative Verb: inversion after a negative word/ phrase in front position, i.e.

ii.b) The Negative Words & Phrases that are normally inverted to emphasise their verb are:

NORMAL SENTENCE:I have never encountered such inhospitable people.

EMPHATIC SENTENCE: Neverhave I encountered such inhospitable people.

ii.c) The Inversion rule also applies with:

1. Restrictive adverbs: only, rarely/ seldom, hardly/ scarcely … when, little

2. Result Clauses: so + adj./ adv. (in front pos.) + auxiliary verb + subject + clause OR such + auxiliary verb + subject + clause

3. Conditional Special Cases & Emphatic Forms: should/ were (to)/ had

4. Short Responses: so + auxiliary verb + subject OR Neither/ Nor + auxiliary verb + subject

motion prep/ adverbs & adverbials of place + main verb + subject + rest of the

sentence

Emphasise motion prepositions & place adverbs/ adverbials by ‘fronting’ them & inverting main verb & subject, i.e.:

In this case, inversion is not always necessary.

This kind of inversion (main verb + subject) happens with:

1. Place adverbs: here & there (when the subject is a noun/ proper name)

2. Prepositions/ adverbs of motion: up, down, into, etc

3. Place adverbials: at the top/ bottom, in the middle, etc

4. Onomatopoeic verbs: splash, bang, pop, beep, boom, etc (mainly used with ‘go’)

•The Passive Voice emphasises the verb & shifts the focus of the sentence.•There are isolated examples of emphatic adj.’s and adv.’s, like many & well.•Emphatic Comparative and Superlative forms, the adverbs emphasising Extreme Adjectives, the Formal Concessive construction and as also come under this tag.

Notes on Adding Emphasis