Inversion

Inversion occurs when the typical subject-verb order in a sentence is reversed. There are two primary types:

1. Verb Before Subject: The verb comes before the subject. In this case, inversion is often optional.
2. Auxiliary Before Subject: The auxiliary verb comes before the subject, with the rest of the verb phrase following the subject. Here, inversion is usually necessary.

Examples:

• Alex stood in the doorway. → In the doorway stood Alex. (or … Alex stood.)
• I had rarely seen such a view. → Rarely had I seen such a view. (not Rarely I had seen …)

Inversion often involves fronting, where information is reordered to emphasize a particular part of the sentence. This rearrangement can postpone an element until later in the sentence, focusing attention on it.

In casual conversation, we frequently use inversion with phrases like Here comes + noun and There goes + noun to describe things or people moving towards or away from the speaker.

Examples:

-Here comes the bus.

-There goes Per Alvin, the conductor.

Additional Uses:

-To indicate something is about to happen: Here comes lunch.

-To express loss or ringing: There goes £100! / There goes the phone. Can you answer it?

Inversion is also used with adverbs that express direction of movement, such as along, away, back, down, in, off, out, up, paired with verbs like come, fly, go.

This structure is common in narrative contexts, particularly to mark a change in events.

Examples:

-The door opened and in came the doctor.
(Less formally: … and the doctor came in.)

-As soon as I let go of the string, up went the balloon, high into the sky.
(Less formally: … the balloon went up …)

Inversion creates a more formal tone, especially in negative clauses. It's important to note that in negative clauses with inversion, contracted forms are not used.

Example:

-Had the plane not been diverted, they would have arrived early.
(Not Hadn’t the plane …)

In formal writing, inversion is often used after as and than in comparisons:

Examples:

-Paper was invented in China, as was the process of printing.

-Most young people did not vote in the election, as was the case in 2010.

-I believed, as did my colleagues, that the plan would work.

-Research shows that parents watch more television than do their children.

When the subject is a pronoun, inversion after as or than does not occur:

Example:

-We now know a lot more about the universe than we did ten years ago.
(Not … than did we ten years ago.)

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

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