Apa itu kalimat inversi (inverted sentences) dan bagaimana contohnya?

Pengertian

Kalimat inversi adalah kalimat yang susunan subjek dan verbanya dibalik. Jika kalimat normal terdiri dari subjek dan verba, kalimat inversi justru verba mendahului subjek. Tipe-tipe kalimat inversi dapat sahabat lihat di artikel lain di Belajar Bahasa. Kalimat inversi umumnya dikarenakan diawali dengan adverbia negatif di awal kalimat.

Contohnya:

• Seldom do we have goods returned to us.
• Not a word had John written since the exam had started.

Ada satu bentuk inversi lain yang belum dibahas yaitu diawali dengan only yang diikuti dengan frasa preposisi atau ekspresi waktu.

1. Only + Time Expression

Only yang diikuti dengan time expression seperti only after, only later, only if, only once, only then, only when menyebabkan kalimat berubah menjadi kalimat inversi.

• Only after dinner can you sleep. (You can only sleep after dinner.)
• Only then did they discover his secret. (They only discovered his secret then.)
• Only when he needed some help did he call me. (He only called me when he needed some help.)

2. Only + Prepositional Phrase

Only yang diikuti prepositional phrase seperti only by, only in, only with juga dapat menyebabkan kalimat menjadi kalimat inversi.

• Only with that tolerance will women finally be able to discover the right decisions for themselves. (Women will be able to discover the right decisions for themselves only with that tolerance.)
• Only by thinking can you solve this exercise. (You can only solve this exercise by thinking.)
• Only in this way does this engine work. (This engine only works in this way.)

Bentuk inversi only juga berlaku dengan bentuk negatifnya yaitu not only,but also:

• Not only did I find it very boring, but I also felt it was highly counterproductive.
• Not only had it taken her mind off Rick, but it had also helped to relax Michelle.
• Not only had I already done so, but also my ball had landed many yards behind the spot where he was standing.