Choose the correct sentence.
Correct answer: A. Hardly had he arrived when the meeting started.
- A. Hardly had he arrived when the meeting started.
- B. Hardly he had arrived when the meeting started.
- C. Hardly had he arrived than the meeting started.
- D. Hardly he arrived when the meeting started.
Explanation
Hardly at the start of a sentence forces inversion of subject and auxiliary, and it is paired with when, not than. No sooner is the parallel construction and it pairs with than instead. Mixing the two pairings is the standard trap in this question type.
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About Sentence Inversion
Inversion changes the usual subject-before-verb order, often placing an auxiliary verb before the subject. The topic covers question formation, negative or restrictive adverbials such as never and rarely, conditional inversion, and emphatic structures, while distinguishing inversion from passive voice and ordinary emphasis.
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