Complete the sentence with standard literary/academic inverted syntax:
Little ________ that their proprietary compression algorithm would revolutionize digital telecommunications worldwide.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. did the software engineers anticipate
Answer: did the software engineers anticipate. Why not the others: 'the software engineers anticipated' lacks inversion; 'had anticipated the software engineers' places the full verb group before the subject; 'the software engineers did anticipate' places the subject first and uses emphatic do rather than inversion.
- Step 1: Recognize the opening word 'Little', used as a negative/restrictive degree adverbial expressing complete lack of awareness.
- Step 2: When 'Little' opens a sentence, it triggers auxiliary-subject inversion: auxiliary 'did' precedes the subject 'the software engineers', followed by base verb 'anticipate'.
Practise more Advanced Syntax, Inversions, Cleft Sentences, and Subjunctive Structures.
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