IPMAT Indore 2022 · Verbal Ability · Question 12

The error: a missing inversion. When a sentence begins with a negative adverbial — never, not once, rarely, seldom, hardly, no sooner, under no circumstances — English requires subject–auxiliary inversion, exactly as in a question.

So “never once he complained” must become “never once did he complain” — auxiliary before subject, and the main verb in its base form.

The fix. “…but not once did he complain.”

Why the others fail:

(b) not once did he give the complaint — the inversion is correct, but “give the complaint” is not idiomatic. One makes a complaint or simply complains; and the definite article is unexplained.

(c) not once any complaining happened — no inversion (there is no auxiliary to invert), and the gerund construction is clumsy and impersonal.

(d) not once he complained — repeats the original error: negative adverbial at the front with no inversion.

Answer: Option 1

Shortcut. Spot the fronted negative and invert — that is the entire rule.

Never have I seen… · Rarely does she complain… · No sooner had he left…

Here: not once did he complain.

Note the form of the main verb after inversion. The auxiliary carries the tense, so the main verb goes into its base form: did he complain, never did he complained.

Two options keep the uninverted order (c, d) and one spoils the idiom (b), so the inversion test alone resolves the question — and it is tested in some form in almost every IPMAT paper.