Seldom ____ such a night.
A. I did see B. have I seen C. have seen I D. I saw
我知道 seldom 等否定词位于句首时要引起主谓倒装,但我不明白为什么上面的试题不能选 C,难道 C(have seen I)不正是主谓倒装吗?
应当牢牢记住: 当 never, little, seldom, hardly, scarcely, rarely 等否定副词位于句首时, 只要求主语和谓语的部分倒装, 而不要求主语和谓语的全部倒装, 换言之, 只要求主语和助动词 (be, do, have, can 等助动词) 的倒装, 而不要求主语和谓语整个组成成分的完全倒装。如果在肯定句中没有功能词 (助动词), 则在带有 seldom, hardly, rarely 等副词的否定句中必须添加一个助动词 do (does) 或 did 放在主语之前, 而把实义动词放在主语之后。这种部分倒装是语法上的强制性要求，而不是语用上选择优劣的用法问题。例如：
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Little did we expect that he would fulfil his task so rapidly. (MDCET) 我们一点儿也没有料到他会如此迅速地完成任务。
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Little does he care whether we live or die. (LDCE) 他毫不关心我们是死还是活。
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Seldom has a single concept played so important a role in mathematics as the concept of function. (TOEFL) 很少有哪一个概念像函数概念那样在数学上起过这么重要的作用。
通过下面的试题你可以很好地掌握这条语法规则：
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Never again ____ political office after his 1928 defeat for the presidency. A. Alfred E. Smith seriously sought B. seriously Alfred E. Smith sought C. when did Alfred E. Smith seriously seek D. did Alfred E. Smith seriously seek (TOEFL)
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Never before I have seen anyone who has the skill John has when he repairs engines. (TOEFL) (参见 Never did we)