Select the correct option: Only after a decade of fieldwork fully grasp the dialect's nuances.

Question

Select the correct option:

Only after a decade of fieldwork fully grasp the dialect's nuances.

1. A. she had
2. B. did she (Correct answer)
3. C. had she
4. D. she did

Correct Answer

Option B — did she

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is did she.

Key Points

• When a sentence opens with a restrictive expression such as *Only after…*, the subject and auxiliary invert, exactly as in a question.
• So the structure is *Only after a decade of fieldwork* + did she + *fully grasp…*
• The base verb grasp follows *did*, which is why "had she" is wrong — that would require the past participle *grasped*.

Additional Information

• Inversion is triggered by fronted negatives and restrictives: Never, Rarely, Seldom, Hardly, Scarcely, No sooner, Not only, Little, Only then, Only when, Under no circumstances, At no time.
• Examples: "Never have I seen such a thing", "No sooner had he arrived than it began to rain", "Not only did she write it, but she also edited it."
• Note that *hardly/scarcely* pair with when, while *no sooner* pairs with than — a pairing tested as often as the inversion itself.