Sentence transformation: The force of the wind was so strong that it flattened...

[Nessie]

Hi everybody,
There're some sentence transformation exercises for which I need your idea :)
I've done it myself. Please check:

1. The force of the wind was so strong that it flattened the houses.
=> Such...
=> Such strong force of the wind was it (or without "it"? which is more right?) that it flattened the houses

2. Management takes no responsibility for loss of belongings
=> In no way...
=> In no way does management take any responsibility for loss of belongings

3. The demand for the computer game was so great that it sold out in one day.
=> Such...
For this sentence I have two queries:
- Is the use of "sold out" here all right? Or should it be "was sold out"?
- Here's my way of transforming the sentence:
Such a great demand for the computer game was it (or without "it"?) that the game (not "it" because it may cause misunderstanding: "it" = "the great demand")

4. The runners were so happy to finish the race that they jumped into the river.
=> So...
=> So happy were the runners to finish the race that they jumped into the river.

5. She had no idea that he had been unfaithful to her
=> Little...

Should it be:
Little did she know that he had been unfaithful to her
or:
Little or nothing did she know he had been unfaithful to her

6. She didn't find a penny
=> Not...
=> Not a penny did she find.

7. He looked so absurd that everybody stared at him
=> So...
=> So absurd did he looked that every stared at him.

8. Three days of the holidays had passed before I began to relax
=> Not until...
=> Not until three days of the holiday had passed that I began to speak.

And just one last question: I think all the original sentences are OK, but I'm not sure if the transformed ones are. It seems to me that they sound not very natural. What do you think?

Thank you very much indeed.
Nessie :)
_________________
:(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Nessie]

I also wonder if native speakers usually use these:

1. Beautiful beyond belief was my baby daughter
2. Happy about their acceptance into their dream school were Jack and John.
3. Quick and painless will be your medical procedure.

=> It seems to me that they are often used with a that-clause after them...
_________________
:(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Yankee]

[Yankee]

[Nessie]

[quote="Yankee"][quote="nessie"]
3. The demand for the computer game was so great that it sold out in one day.
=> Such...
For this sentence I have two queries:
- Is the use of "sold out" here all right? Or should it be "was sold out"? I prefer "sold out".

Why isn't it "was sold out", Amy? The game doesn't sell itself, does it? :P
- Here's my way of transforming the sentence:
Such a great demand for the computer game was it (or without "it"?) that the game (not "it" because it may cause misunderstanding: "it" = "the great demand")
Like sentence 1:
- Such was the demand for the computer game that it sold out in two days.

- So great was the demand for the computer game that it sold out in two days.
Thanks, Amy :) I now understand the structure "such was + noun" and "so +adj + be + noun", but I still wonder about the word "it" here: I thinkit may cause misunderstanding ("it" = the demand, not the game)
5. She had no idea that he had been unfaithful to her
=> Little...

Should it be:
Little did she know that he had been unfaithful to her Yes
or:
Little or nothing did she know he had been unfaithful to her No

Why is the latter wrong, Amy? I think it emphasises the idea that she knows nothing about that fact (the original sentence: she had no idea) whereas if we just say "little did she...", it may mean that she knows a little about it... What do you think?

8. Three days of the holidays had passed before I began to relax
=> Not until...
=> Not until three days of the holiday had passed that I began to speak.
Not until three days (of my holiday) had passed did I begin to relax.

But what about this, Amy:
http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=not+until

nessie wrote:
I also wonder if native speakers usually use these:

1. Beautiful beyond belief was my baby daughter This sounds literary
2. Happy about their acceptance into their dream school were Jack and John. This sounds extremely literary.
3. Quick and painless will be your medical procedure. No

Why is this wrong while the first two are right, Amy?
nessie wrote:
=> It seems to me that they are often used with a that-clause after them...
Yes, if the sentence also begins with 'so', for example:

1. So beautiful was my baby daughter that people regularly gaped in disbelief.

2. So happy about their acceptance into their dream school were Jack and John that they found it impossible to sleep for two days.

3. So quick and painless will your medical procedure be that you'll hardly even know it happened.
So if they are not used with "so", there can't be a that-clause after them?

Lastly, it seems to me that the use of inversion is not very common in everyday speech. It sounds somehow a bit formal and literary. Do you agree?
_________________
:(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Yankee]

[Yankee]

Hi Nessie

Sorry, I missed this one:

[Nessie]

Oh I'm so sorry, Amy. I mistook "Not until..." for "It was not until..." (+_+)
I got it now.
Many thanks once again.
Nessie.
_________________
:(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Inga]

But to read such posts is so useful! (for me) I think, it's more pleasant for Nessie to talk/deal with you, Amy, than with her teachers. Boring teachers make bored students.
_________________
I am an incurable optimist.

[Inga]

I am happy when my students ask me questions - it makes me look for (and find) the answers if I don't know anything. But many teachers just refer their students to some 'clever' books or pretend that they do know the answer (and sometimes even give the wrong answer). They are wrong teachers, to my mind.
_________________
I am an incurable optimist.

[Nessie]

Well, Inga, everybody knows nobody is perfect, but sadly very few can accept that, especially non-native teachers (and I'm saying about VNese non-native teachers only, since I don't know about non-native teachers in other countries :D). Sometimes they make mistakes but never accept that, and when we point out the mistakes, usually they just claim that they are right: they are teachers. You'd never understand that unless you were a Vnese student like me :P (Oh! God forgive me for speaking ill of most of my teachers - I only tell the truth, so he'll forgive me :P)

One more thing: I don't know why but most teachers here are afraid of me - the silly girl with thousands of questions all the time. I am forever disturbing them with my questions, and so... :P:P:P (I believe you are a very good teacher, Inga, you like quesions from students :D)

[Inga]

[Yankee]

Hi Nessie

I'm glad you feel happy with my input. By the way, you are the same age as my niece and she seems to like my input, too. :wink:

I would like to emphasize the idea about not putting too many questions in a single post. It can be off-putting to people who might otherwise reply. People might want to answer, but they might not have the time to wade through and reply to so much all at once. Or they might get interrupted in the middle of a long reply, and then the reply might never be posted at all. This is something that has been mentioned here before -- as well as on other ESL forums.

In addition, you should try to make your questions as specific as possible. You asked this question about your BNC search results: "What about this?" Asking a question like that is basically the same thing as asking someone to become a mind reader. Although mind-reading ability often seems to be expected of ESL teachers, I'm here to tell you that none of us can actually do that. :lol:

I find it distinctly unfriendly if a teacher does not challenge a student to think for herself. I find it distinctly unfriendly and counter-productive if a teacher does a lot of a student's work. There is a lot to be said for the concept of "learning by doing". Thus, if you are going to use resources such as the BNC, you also need to do something with the information you get. A BNC search will get you examples of how a word or phrase is used in context. It is then your job to try to analyze and understand the contextual usage. If after doing this you still have a question, then you can ask a specific question.

[Inga]

[Nessie]