Using Word Order for Emphasis

There are several ways to add emphasis (focus) to parts of your sentences in English by changing the word order. When you have a good understanding of the basic sentence structure in English, you can learn to move parts of a sentence to add emphasis to a certain part of the sentence.

See also in this series on sentence structure and word order:

• Basic Sentence Structures in the English Language
• Word Order in English
• Adverb Word Order
• Using Word Order for Emphasis
• English Adjectives, Determiners and Order of Adjectives in a Sentence
• English Parts of Speech
• Understanding the Parts of a Sentence
• Types of Sentences in English

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

This is the standard word order for English sentences:
 
Subject + Verb + Direct Object
 
He bought flowers.

 
You can extend this sentence with more parts of speech.
 
Subject  + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object + Prepositional Phrase
 
He bought flowers for his wife on Mother’s Day.

 
There are a few ways you can change the word order in standard sentences to add emphasis or focus to a certain part of the sentence. In this lesson, we will learn some of the ways to add emphasis in sentences in English.
 

Passive voice

In English, the beginning of a sentence usually gets more focus or emphasis. That means the focus is usually on the subject and what the subject does (verb).

By using passive voice, you can emphasize what happens to something or someone rather than telling who or what did it. The focus is on the action or result.
 
Most sentences are written in the active voice. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action.
 

 
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is affected by the action.
 
 
Active voice is more common than passive voice in English. You can use the passive voice when you want to tell about an action, but you don’t want to tell who or what does the action.
 

This sentence is in active voice. It is clear who broke the window. Jim broke the window.
 

This sentence is in passive voice. This sentence describes the action without telling who did it. The emphasis is on the action NOT on who did the action.
 
Another use of passive voice is when you want to emphasize the object and not the subject.
 

This sentence is in active voice. Here the emphasis is on Tim losing the dog.
 

This sentence is in passive voice. The object became the subject. Here, the emphasis is on the fact that the dog was lost.
 

Moving the time 

English adverb time phrases and clauses can be placed at the beginning of a sentence to add emphasis to the time.

Invert the word order (Inversions)

To invert = to reverse
 
Another way to add emphasis is by inverting the word order of a sentence by placing a prepositional phrase or another expression at the beginning of the sentence followed by inverted word order.
 
Inversion means you reverse the normal word order of a sentence. Instead of Subject + Verb, we might add an auxiliary (helping) verb before the subject. We do this in English to form questions.
 
 

Negative adverbs + inversion

In formal English, you can place a negative adverb or adverb phrase in front of the inversion for emphasis.
 
Negative adverbs: hardly, never, seldom, rarely, no sooner, not only, nowhere, in no way, never before
 
 

You can use different tenses in the same way.
 
 

 

Here and there + inversion

You can also add emphasis by beginning a sentence with here or there followed by an inversion.
 
 
 

Expressions beginning with no / not / only + inversion

We can also begin a sentence with not/no/only + prepositional phrase followed by an inversion.
 
 

Adding auxiliary verbs

We can add emphatic auxiliary verbs before the main verb to stress a strong feeling.
 
 

We can also use this type of sentence with a tag question to confirm something we think is true.
 

Introductory adverbs and phrases 

If you want to add emphasis to key facts or phrases, you use introductory adverbs or phrases such as especially, particularly, above all, remarkably, and most importantly.
 
 
 

Moving parts of speech

You can also add emphasis to parts of a sentence by moving certain parts of speech.
 
Some adverbs can be placed at the front of a sentence to add emphasis.
 

Cleft sentences

Cleft sentences help us focus on a certain part of a sentence to add emphasis to what we want to say.
 
Cleft comes from the verb to cleave meaning to divide into two.
 
Cleft sentences are divided into two clauses. Each clause has its own verb.
 
This is the basic pattern of a cleft sentence:
 
 
It wasn’t the boys who started the fight.

It wasn’t the boys that started the fight.

(The boys didn’t start the fight. Someone else did.)
 
It is the secretary that I wish to thank.

(I want to thank the secretary.)

 
Modal verbs can also be used in cleft sentences.
 
 
Go to this lesson to learn more about cleft sentences: Cleft Sentences.

 

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