Grammar Worksheet — Intro
Emphasis with Fronting and Do-support
Explanation
Advanced speakers use fronting and emphatic auxiliaries to control sentence focus.
Fronting moves important information to the beginning of the sentence: This question we must answer first.
Emphatic do, does, or did strengthens a contrast, correction, or insistence.
Form
| Use | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Core form | Fronted object + subject + verb | This issue we cannot ignore. |
| Variation | Fronted complement + be + subject | More serious was the lack of evidence. |
| Advanced form | Emphatic do/does/did + base verb | The data did reveal one clear trend. |
Do not overuse fronting; it is marked and often formal or literary.
Use emphatic do only with present simple or past simple main verbs, not with be or modal verbs.
Examples
- This issue we cannot ignore.
- More worrying was the absence of reliable data.
- The policy did improve access in rural areas.
- What the report does show is a gradual change in behaviour.
- A full apology the public never received.
- Important though the results are, they remain incomplete.
- The first claim may be true; the second I strongly reject.
- The committee does need more time.
Common Mistakes
- This issue cannot we ignore. → This issue we cannot ignore. Do not invert the subject and auxiliary after ordinary object fronting.
- More worrying the absence of data was. → More worrying was the absence of data. A fronted complement before be usually takes inversion.
- The policy did improved access. → The policy did improve access. Use base verb after emphatic did.
- The committee does needs more time. → The committee does need more time. Use base verb after emphatic does.