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。例如：-里把表示否定的副詞或副詞短語提到句前;-是把副詞虛助詞提前：

● 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.