当主语在谓语前出现时叫顺序(the natural order)。在某些情况下，我们可以把谓语成分放在主语前面，这种词序叫做倒装( the inverted order)。

　　倒装分两种：配合语法条例的倒装，叫“grammatical inversion”；配合强调语势的叫“emphatic inversion”。

　　语法上的倒装句是强制性的，包括下列7 种：

　　⒈疑问句，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?

　　但疑问代词做主语时，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”引导的句子，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感叹句，如：

　　● How beautiful the flower is!

　　● What a smart boy you are!

　　⒌有连接词“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省略连词“if”的条件副词分句，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”连接的让步副词分句，如：

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

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

　　谈过了语法上的倒装句，现在谈强调的倒装句。

　　● 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.