..., which never do we understand on our own.

[Mehrgan]

Hi all,

Is it possible for a subject-verb inversion to happen in a relative clause?


My example: "The topic is too complicated, which never do we understand on our own."

 

[emsr2d2]

No.

 

[Phaedrus]

Is it possible for a subject-verb inversion to happen in a relative clause?

Occasionally, in literary English, subject-verb inversion is found in relative clauses introduced by relative adverbs. Here is an example plucked fresh from Google Books, a compound-complex sentence containing two independent clauses, two relative clauses (one of which has inversion), and four passive-voice verb phrases!

"She was made to descend by a ladder into the cell, wherein had been placed a couch, a lamb, and a little food, for it was thought sinful to starve those whose lives had been set aside for the service of the gods" (Isabel Lovell, Stories from the Roman Forum).

 

[5jj]

The words were written some 120 years ago.