當主語在謂語前出現時叫順序(the natural order)。在某些情況下，我們可以把謂語成分放在主語前面，這種詞序叫做倒裝( the inverted order)。

倒裝分兩種：配合語法條例的倒裝，叫“grammatical inversion”;配合強調語勢的叫“emphatic inversion”。

語法上的倒裝句是強制性的，包括下列 7 種：

⒈疑問句，如：

Can you do it?

How old are you?

When did you know him?

Why did you elect him as captain?

Which of these apples do you prefer?

但疑問代詞做主語時，不必倒置，如：

Who is your English teacher?

What happened last night?

⒉表示“愿望”的句子，如：

May God bless you.

Long live the king!

⒊“There”引導的句子，如：

There are many cars on the road.

There stand some big trees near the river.

There is a security guard outside the bank.

⒋感嘆句，如：

How beautiful the flower is!

What a smart boy you are!

⒌有連接詞“so, neither, nor”的句子，如：

Tom can ride a bicycle; so can I.

She can’t sing; neither can he.

John has never been late; nor have I.

⒍省略連詞“if”的條件副詞分句，如：

Were I you, I would not do such a thing.

Should the machine break down again, send it back to us.

Had you worked harder, you would have passed.

⒎“as, however”連接的讓步副詞分句，如：

Small as the pen is, it is a powerful weapon.

However busy you are, you should spend some time reading Zaobao weekly.

談過了語法上的倒裝句，現在談強調的倒裝句。

Never have I seen such a wicked man.

On no account must this employee be removed.

Not until he told me had I heard anything of it.

No sooner had I left than the rain came.

Up jumped the puppy.

In came John.

Down fell the rotten branches from the tree.

Out came a woman and her maid.