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Inversion in the English language

Key words: subject–auxiliary inversion, subject–verb inversion, inversion, word order, violation, language, linguistic

Understanding the nature of language and thought, or at least what they are not, is just about as important as any understanding can be. Both are at the basis of our lives; in a sense they are our lives. Is language a distinct faculty? Is it controlled by parts of the brain dedicated to language alone? Is human thought language? If it is, are we intellectual prisoners limited to thinking what language can describe, and allows us to think? Or is language a human invention? Is thought essentially independent of language, but in practice critically influenced by it? Much, politically and socially, depends indirectly on which is the correct view, and much depends on the view of linguisticians, neuroscientists and philosophers, whether they are correct or not. [1]

In general, an "inversion" is a changed order of things. If X usually comes before Y, the inverted order will be Y first, then X. When looking at the grammar of the English language we see inversions for instance in the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence. To explain what an inversion is in English, first think of a simple sentence like: "Graffiti is ugly." In sentences like this the subject (graffiti) must come before the verb (is). This is the normal order. The most common example of the inverted order of the subject and the verb is seen in questions such as: "Is graffiti ugly?" The English language often uses this kind of inversion to make a question, but this is not the only time that the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence is inverted. [2]

Changing standard word order is called "inversion". Inversion in English usually refers to placing the auxiliary, modal, or main verb before the subject. Inversion is used with a certain aim, often for emphasis. For example:

Never before have I seen such beauty.

There can be another problem.

Away ran the witch and the monster. [3]

In linguistics, inversion is any of several grammatical constructions where two expressions switch their canonical order of appearance, that is, they invert. The most frequent type of inversion in English is subject–auxiliary inversion, where an auxiliary verb changes places with its subject; this often occurs in questions, such as Are you coming?, where the subject you is switched with the auxiliary are. In many other languages – especially those with freer word order than English – inversion can take place with a variety of verbs (not just auxiliaries) and with other syntactic categories as well.

Subject–auxiliary inversion

The most frequently occurring type of inversion in English is subject–auxiliary inversion. The subject and auxiliary verb invert, i.e. they switch positions, e.g.

a. Alice will stay.

b. Will Alice stay? - Subject–auxiliary inversion with yes/no question

a. Alice has done it.

b. What has Alice done? - Subject–auxiliary inversion with constituent question

a. Alice has helped at no point.

b. At no point has Alice helped. - Subject–auxiliary inversion with fronted expression containing negation (negative inversion)

a. If we were to surrender, ...

b. Were we to surrender, ... - Subject–auxiliary inversion in condition clause [4]

The most common type of inversion in English consists in moving the auxiliary verb into the position before the subject. This type of inversion is most frequently used in questions. Forexample:

Did Lena go to the park yesterday?

What are you doing now?

Is this story long?

How long is this story?

Has she found her keys?

Inversion refers to an irregular verb placement form: Use of Question Form In this case, the question form (auxiliary + subject + main verb) takes the place of the standard positive sentence structure: Examples : I not only enjoy classical music, but I also have a season ticket to the symphony. Not only do I enjoy classical music, but I also have a season ticket to the symphony.

The default order in English is subject–verb (SV), but a number of meaning-related differences (such as those illustrated above) motivate the subject and auxiliary verb to invert so that the finite verb precedes the subject; one ends up with auxiliary–subject (Aux-S) order. This type of inversion fails if the finite verb is not an auxiliary:

a. Alice stayed.

b. Stayed Alice? - Inversion impossible here because the verb is not an auxiliary verb

Subject–verbinversion

The verb in cases of subject–verb inversion in English is not required to be an auxiliary verb; it is, rather, a full verb or a form of the copula be. If the sentence has an auxiliary verb, the subject is placed after the auxiliary and the main verb. For example:

a. She will come into the room.

b. Into the room will come she.

Since this type of inversion generally places the focus on the subject, the subject is likely to be a full noun or noun phrase rather than a pronoun. Third-person personal pronouns are especially unlikely to be found as the subject in this construction. For example:

a. Down the stairs came the dog. - Noun subject

b. Down the stairs came it. - Third-person personal pronoun as subject; unlikely unless it has special significance and is stressed

c. Down the stairs came I. - First-person personal pronoun as subject; more likely, though still I would require stress

There are a number of types of subject-verb inversion in English: locative inversion, directive inversion, copular inversion, and quotative inversion.

The following cases of inversion occur when some parts of the sentence, for example, the adverbial modifier of place or direction, come at the beginning of the sentence. Inversion in such cases consists in moving the auxiliary verb, and in some cases the main verb (i.e., the whole tense form), into the position before the subject.

Such cases of inversion are rather formal and emphatic. They are generally used in formal writing and in literary works. The examples below are given in pairs: Inverted word order – Standard word order.

Inversions with "so", "neither" and "nor"

When "so", "neither" and "nor" are used to make short agreements they are followed by an inversion.

"I am not into hip hop."
"Neither am I." (Or: "Nor am I.")

"I am fond of flamenco dancing."
"So am I."

Or they can be used in the following way (also including an inversion).

Jennifer buys only organic fruit and vegetables, and so does Hugh.
They don't mind the higher prices, and neither do we. (Or: ...nor do we.)

Inversions after negative adverbials

There are some words and phrases that function as adverbials that sometimes need an inversion. Look at these two sentences.

Bob rarely speaks to himself.
Rarely does Bob speak to himself.

The adverb here is "rarely". If it comes after the subject, there is no inversion (as in the first sentence), but if it comes before the subject, we need an inversion. The word order is inverted and in the case of the sentence about Bob we use the auxiliary verb "does" in the same way we do in questions (although this isn't a question).

The sentence with the inversion sounds more formal or more literary, and sentences like this are less common in ordinary conversation.

Here are some examples with other phrases used in the same way.

Seldom does Bob get invited to parties. (seldom = rarely)
Never have we seen such a breathtaking view.
At no time did the prisoner look as if he might confess.
Not only is she a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
Not until she took up rock climbing did she overcome her fear of heights.
Under no circumstances* will prisoners be allowed to give interviews to the media.
Little** did she realize that her grandmother was really a wolf.

This is used to describe rules for which there are no exceptions. The alternative without the inversion is: Prisoners will not be allowed to give interviews to the media under any circumstances.

This means that the girl didn't realize at all that her grandmother was really a wolf.

N.B. Remember that no inversion is possible if the adverbial doesn't come before the subject. Compare the following sentences with the corresponding sentences above.

She is not only a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
It was not until Effie left Brooklyn that she realized how attached she had become to the place.

The following three are used to describe an event that happened immediately after another.

Hardly had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
Scarcely had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
No sooner had he stepped outside than it started to rain.

Note that the past perfect tense is used to describe the event that happened first.

The following sentences with "only" include inversions. Note that it is not always the first verb that is inverted.

Only after he arrived at the airport did he look for his passport.
Only if you look through this dark glass will you be able to see the spots on the sun.
We accepted the invitation. Only later did we suspect it might be a trap.
Only by threatening extreme physical violence was the teacher able to control the class.

Note that there is no inversion when "only" is used in the following way.

Only Fiona knew the answer to the question.

Conditionals with inversions

In conditional (hypothetical) sentences we can sometimes drop "if" and use an inversion.

Should you see Nigel, give him my regards.
Were I in your shoes, I would make a formal complaint.
Had I known it was her birthday, I would have bought her a gift.

Note that "should", "were" and "had" are the only verbs that can be inverted in this way. (And "were" is also used with he, she and it.)

L I T E R A T U R E

1. David Crystal “The structure of English language” www.davidcrystal.com

2. www.usefulenglish.ru (Grammaring Aguide to English grammar)

3. www.grammaring.com

4. Greenbaum, S. and R. Quirk. 1990. A student's grammar of the English language. Harlow, Essex, England: Longman.

5. www.usefulenglish.ru (Grammaring. A Quide to English grammar)