List of 18 Types of Subject/Verb Inversion

Type Examples Notes

1. neg intro Never do I sleep.
Only at night can I study.
In no way could I help you with your
Japanese grammar question.
I believe that only rarely will I need
your help.
Not until I got home did I realie that
my shoes were untied.
!uestion "orm is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
$e need to learn the various types o"
words and phrases that require this type
o" inversion.
Notice that sometimes the inversion
occurs right a"ter the neg intro "orm and
sometimes it occurs in the next sub%ect
and verb.
&. intro
adverbial
Into the room ran the lady.
'irst comes love( then comes
marriage.
)"ter ) comes *( then comes +( next
comes ,.
,own came the rain and washed the
spider out.
Inversion is optional.
#sed with be-verbs( lin.ing verbs( and
verbs o" direction.
Notice that sometimes we have an
adverb( li.e "irst and down and
sometimes we have an adverb phrase li.e
into the room or a"ter ). These adverbs
and adverb phrases usually show location
or direction.
This type o" inversion usually only
occurs with be-verbs( lin.ing verbs and
verbs that show direction or movement(
li.e come( go( run( etc.
/. intro 0ed 'ound in 1an 'rancisco is 2ombard
1treet( the so-called croo.edest street
in the world.
2ost among the old tables and chairs
was the priceless 3ictorian des..
2ocated between 1an 'rancisco and
4arin +ounty is the 5olden 5ate
*ridge.
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with be-verbs.
This type o" inversion usually occurs
with be-verbs( but sometimes with
lin.ing verbs.
Notice that the phrase is the complement
o" the be-verb.
6. comparatives +heetahs run "aster than do
antelopes.
7ou spea. +hinese better than do I.
Jessica is more interested in
+omputer 1cience than is *en%amin.
Inversion is optional.
#sed with all verbs.
$e normally only have inversion here i"
we are comparing sub%ects o" the verb(
not ob%ects. 'or example( in the
"ollowing two sentences( we are
comparing ob%ects( carrots and potatoes(
not the sub%ect I.8
J I li.e carrots more than I do potatoes. J
2 I li.e carrots more than do I li.e
potatoes. 2
Now( in this sentence( we are comparing
Type Examples Notes
sub%ects( I and my "riend +arl8
J I li.e carrots more than does my "riend
+arl. J
9. intro
comparative
*igger than an apatosaur is the blue
whale.
4ore important than your personal
statement is your 5:).
No less impressive than the invention
o" the laser was the development o"
the wheel.
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with be-verbs.
Notice that we can only use this "orm o"
inversion when the verb is a be-verb
since in every case( the comparative is
the complement o" the be-verb.
;emember that less than is also a
comparative.
<. as 4egumi is "rom Japan( as is 1ato.
1o-eun wants to leave early today( as
does Oi.
I" thrown into the water( camels can
swim( as can cats.
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
$e can only use inversion i" we are
using as "or comparisons.
as is one o" the tric.iest words in
English= it can have many di""erent
meanings.
>. so? that? 1o happy was I that I bought "lowers
"or everybody in class.
1o quic.ly did she leave that we did
not even realie was gone.
1o rarely does a comet appear visible
to the na.ed eye that when one does(
it is considered a ma%or event.
!uestion "orm is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
The so? that? clause must be"ore the
verb in "or this type o" inversion.
@. had, should,
were "or if-
clauses
Aad I remembered TomomiBs
birthday( she wouldnCt be mad at me
now.
Note that the word i" does NOT
appear in the clause when inversion
is used8
Aad I remembered D I" I had
remembered
1hould you need a hand( I will be
more than happy to help you.
1hould you need a hand D I" you
should need a hand
$ere I you( I thin. I would study
more "or your exam tomorrow.
$ere I you D I" I were you
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
This type o" inversion is .ind o" special.
Notice that we can only use this type o"
inversion when we are using an i"-clause.
In other words( i" is omitted8 even though
the word i" does not appear in the clause(
we still have the meaning o" an i"-clause.
'or more in"ormation( see had( should(
were.
E. there is( There is a good restaurant nearby. Inversion is obligatory.
Type Examples Notes
there are( there
exists( there
comes( etc.
There comes a time in every personCs
li"e when she realies that she is
responsible "or her own happiness(
not other people.
1cientists hypothesie that there
exists a certain type o" particle that
can travel "aster than the speed o"
light.
#sually used only with these verbs.
4ost people remember there is and there
are. *#T we must also remember that
there are other verbs that we can use
instead o" is and are. The most common
ones are exist( come( and go.
1F. here is( here
are( here
comes( here
come
Aere is some good "ood "or you to
try.
Aere are the boo.s that I donCt need
anymore.
Aere comes the busG
Inversion is obligatory.
#sually used only with these verbs.
11. intro -ing *urning out o" control was the "orest
located in the "oothills o" the 1ierra
Nevada mountains.
+oming in last in the race was Joe
HElephant 2egsH *low.
Not helping the situation was little
1usie( who was throwing newspaper
on the spreading "ire.
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed only with be-verbs.
Notice the intro 0ing phrase is the
complement o" the be-verb.
1&. emphasis *oy am I hungry.
Is it ever hot in hereG
,o you .now how to coo.G
Inversion is optional.
#sed with all verbs.
1/. the bigger(
the better
The closer an ob%ect is to another
ob%ect( the greater is the gravity
between the two ob%ects.
!uestion "orm is optional.
#sed with all verbs.
16. questions Is this the last exampleI
,o you en%oy reading these listsI
)re we "inished yetI
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
19. Hstory
speechH
JI thin. itCs time to go(K said 1usan.
JItCs time "or you( but not "or me(K
replied 5ary.
J4aybe we should collect our
thoughts "or a moment(K commented
2any.

Inversion is optional.
#sed with verbs that report speech.
1<. nor No one has volunteered "or the %ob( Inversion is obligatory.
Type Examples Notes
nor do we expect anyone to volunteer
in the "uture.
Ao.-ming cannot spea. :ortuguese(
nor can JosL spea. +antonese.
The oo regulations will not permit
you to touch the animals( nor would
most people advise you to do so.
#sed with all verbs.
;emember that nor is considered a
con%unction( but we use it between two
sentences Mnot between any two elements
li.e the other con%unctionsN.
1>. Hso do IHO
Hneither do I.H
J1o do I.K
J1o can Terry.K
JNeither do most people I .now.K
Inversion is obligatory.
#sed with all verbs.
1@. intro
ad%ective
*eauti"ul beyond belie" was my baby
daughter.
Aappy about their acceptance into
their dream schools were 2any and
Tomo.
!uic. and painless will be your
medical procedure.
Inversion is obligatory in most cases.
Inversion is sometimes not used in poetic
language.