Subject–verb

inversion in English

Subject–verb inversion in English is a t ype of inversion where t he subject and verb (or chain
of verbs, verb cat ena) swit ch t heir canonical order of appearance so t hat t he subject follows
t he verb(s), e.g. A lamp stood beside the bed → Beside the bed stood a lamp. Subject –verb
inversion is dist inct from subject –auxiliary inversion because t he verb involved is not an
auxiliary verb.

Overview

The following sent ences illust rat e subject -verb inversion. They compare canonical order wit h
t he non-st andard inversion order, and t hey demonst rat e t hat subject -verb inversion is unlikely
if t he subject is a weak (non-st ressed) definit e pronoun:

a. Jim sat under t he t ree.

b. Under t he t ree sat Jim. - Subject -verb inversion
c. *Under t he t ree sat he. - Subject -verb inversion unlikely wit h weak definit e subject
pronoun
a. The dog came down t he st airs.
b. Down t he st airs came the dog. - Subject -verb inversion
c. *Down t he st airs came it. - Subject -verb inversion unlikely wit h weak definit e subject
pronoun
a. Some flowers are in t he vase.
b. In t he vase are some flowers. - Subject -verb inversion wit h t he copula
 c. *In t he vase are they. - Subject -verb inversion unlikely wit h weak definit e subject
pronoun
a. Bill said, "I am hungry."
b. "I am hungry," said Bill. - Subject -verb-object inversion
c. "I am hungry," said he. - Subject -verb-object inversion here possible, but less likely, wit h
weak definit e subject pronoun

Subject -verb inversion has occurred in t he b-sent ences t o emphasize t he post -verb subject .
The emphasis may occur, for inst ance, t o est ablish a cont rast of t he subject wit h anot her
ent it y in t he discourse cont ext .

Types of subject-verb inversion

A number of t ypes of subject -verb inversion can be acknowledged based upon t he nat ure of
phrase t hat precede t he verb and t he nat ure of t he verb(s) involved. The following
subsect ions enumerat e four dist inct t ypes of subject -verb inversion: locative inversion,
directive inversion, copular inversion, and quotative inversion.

Locative inversion

Locat ive inversion also occurs in many languages, including Brazilian Port uguese, Mandarin
Chinese, Ot jiherero, Chichewa, and a number of Germanic and Bant u languages. An adjunct
phrase is swit ched from it s default post verbal posit ion t o a posit ion preceding t he verb,
which causes t he subject and t he finit e verb t o invert . For example:[1]

a. A lamp lay in t he corner.

b. In t he corner lay a lamp. - Locat ive inversion
c. *In t he corner lay it. - Locat ive inversion unlikely wit h a weak pronoun subject
a. Only Larry sleeps under t hat t ree.
b. Under t hat t ree sleeps only Larry. - Locat ive inversion
c. *Under t hat t ree sleeps he. - Locat ive inversion unlikely wit h a weak pronoun subject

The front ed expression t hat evokes locat ive inversion is an adjunct of locat ion. Locat ive
inversion in modern English is a vest ige of t he V2 order associat ed wit h earlier st ages of t he
language.

Directive inversion

Direct ive inversion is closely relat ed t o locat ive inversion insofar as t he pre-verb expression
denot es a locat ion, t he only difference being t hat t he verb is now a verb of movement .
Typical verbs t hat allow direct ive inversion in English are come, go, run, et c.[2]

a. Two students came int o t he room.

b. Int o t he room came two students. - Direct ive inversion
c. *Int o t he room came they. - Direct ive inversion unlikely wit h a weak pronoun subject
a. The squirrel fell out of t he t ree.
b. Out of t he t ree fell the squirrel. - Direct ive inversion
c. *Out of t he t ree fell it. - Direct ive inversion unlikely wit h a weak pronoun subject

The front ed expression t hat evokes inversion is a direct ive expression; it helps express
movement t oward a dest inat ion. The following sent ence may also be an inst ance of direct ive
inversion, alt hough t he front ed expression expresses t ime rat her t han direct ion:

a. The toasts came aft er t he speeches.

b. Aft er t he speeches came the toasts. - Inversion aft er a t ime expression

Like locat ive inversion, direct ive inversion is undoubt edly a vest ige of t he V2 word order
associat ed wit h earlier st ages of t he language.

Copular inversion

Copular inversion occurs when a predicat ive nominal swit ches posit ions wit h t he subject in a
clause where t he copula be is t he finit e verb. The result of t his inversion is known as an
inverse copular const ruct ion, e.g.[3]

a. Bill is our represent at ive.

b. Our represent at ive is Bill. - Copular inversion
c. *Our represent at ive is he. - Copular inversion unlikely wit h weak pronoun subject
a. The objection was a concern.
b. A concern was the objection. - Copular inversion
c. *A concern was it. - Copular inversion unlikely wit h weak pronoun subject

This t ype of inversion occurs wit h a finit e form of t he copula be. Since English predominant ly
has SV order, it will t end t o view whichever noun phrase immediat ely precedes t he finit e verb
as t he subject . Thus in t he second b-sent ence, A concern is t aken as t he subject , and the
objection as t he predicat e. But if one acknowledges t hat copular inversion has occurred, one
can argue t hat the objection is t he subject ; and A concern, t he predicat e. This confusion has
led t o focused st udy of t hese t ypes of copular clauses.[4] Where t here is a difference in
number, t he verb agrees wit h t he noun phrase t hat precedes it :

a. Jack and Jill are t he problem.

 b. The problem is Jack and Jill. - On an inversion analysis, t he verb agrees wit h t he
apparent predicat e.

Quotative inversion

In lit erat ure, subject -verb inversion occurs wit h verbs of speaking. The speech being report ed
is produced in it s direct form, usually wit h quot at ion marks:[5]

a. "We are going t o win," Bill said.

b. "We are going t o win," said Bill. - Quot at ive inversion
c. *"We are going t o win," said he. - Quot at ive inversion less likely wit h weak subject
pronoun
a. "What was t he problem?" Larry asked.
b. "What was t he problem?" asked Larry. - Quot at ive inversion
c. *"What was t he problem?" asked he. - Quot at ive inversion less likely wit h weak subject
pronoun

This sort of inversion is absent from everyday speech. It occurs almost exclusively in lit erary
cont ext s.

Multiple verbs

Subject -verb inversion can somet imes involve more t han one verb. In t hese cases, t he subject
follows all of t he verbs, t he finit e as well as non-finit e ones, e.g.

a. Remnants of marijuana consumption have been found under her bed t wice.
b. Under her bed have been found remnants of marijuana consumption t wice.
c. Under her bed have been found t wice remnants of marijuana consumption.

Sent ence b and sent ence c, where t he subject follows all t he verbs, st and in st ark cont rast
t o what occurs in cases of subject -auxiliary inversion, which have t he subject appearing
bet ween t he finit e auxiliary verb and t he non-finit e verb(s), e.g.

d. Has anyt hing been found under her bed?

Furt her, t he flexibilit y across sent ence b and sent ence c demonst rat es t hat t here is some
freedom of word order in t he post -verb domain. This freedom is consist ent wit h an analysis in
t erms of right wards shift ing of t he subject , where heavier const it uent s t end t o follow light er
ones. Evidence for t his claim comes from t he observat ion t hat equivalent s of sent ence c
above are not as good wit h a light subject :

e. ?? Under her bed has been found t wice marijuana.

f. * Under her bed has been found t wice it.
These fact s clearly dist inguish t his kind of inversion from simple subject -auxiliary inversion,
which applies regardless of t he weight of t he subject :

g. Has it been found under her bed?

Thus, it is not clear from t hese examples if subject -auxiliary inversion is a unified grammat ical
phenomenon wit h t he ot her cases discussed above.

Structural analysis

Like most t ypes of inversion, subject -verb inversion is a phenomenon t hat challenges t heories
of sent ence st ruct ure. In part icular, t he t radit ional subject -predicat e division of t he clause (S
→ NP VP) is difficult t o maint ain in light of inst ances of subject -verb inversion such as Into
the room will come a unicorn. Such sent ences are more consist ent wit h a t heory t hat t akes
sent ence st ruct ure t o be relat ively flat , lacking a finit e verb phrase const it uent , i.e. lacking
t he VP of S → NP VP.

In order t o maint ain t he t radit ional subject -predicat e division, one has t o assume movement
(or copying) on a massive scale. The basic difficult y is suggest ed by t he following t rees
represent ing t he phrase st ruct ures of t he sent ences:

The convent ion is used here where t he words t hemselves appear as t he labels on t he nodes
in t he t rees. The t ree on t he left shows t he canonical analysis of t he clause, whereby t he
sent ence is divided int o t wo immediat e const it uent s, t he subject Bill and t he finit e VP
crouched in the bush. To maint ain t he int egrit y of t he finit e VP const it uent crouched in the
bush, one can assume a rearranging of t he const it uent s in t he second sent ence on t he right ,
whereby bot h crouched and in the bush move out of t he VP and up t he st ruct ure. The
account suggest ed wit h t he second t ree is t he sort of analysis t hat one is likely t o find in
Government and Binding Theory or t he Minimalist Program. It is a phrase st ruct ure account
t hat relies on unseen movement /copying mechanisms below t he surface.
The unseen mechanisms must perform an even great er job for t he marijuana-example above.
That sent ence (sent ence c in t he previous sect ion) would necessit at e at least five inst ances
of movement /copying in order t o maint ain t he presence of an underlying finit e VP
const it uent .

This makes it unlikely t hat t he mechanism discussed above is t he correct analysis for t he
marijuana-examples, as t hese might be generat ed by t he same mechanisms t hat underlie
ext raposit ion and heavy-NP shift .

An alt ernat ive analysis of subject -verb inversion reject s t he exist ence of t he finit e VP
const it uent . Due t o t he absence of t his const it uent , t he st ruct ure is flat t er, which simplifies
mat t ers considerably. The sent ences wit h invert ed order will oft en not result in a
discont inuit y, which means t he basic hierarchy of const it uent s (t he vert ical order) does not
change across t he canonical and invert ed variant s. The following t rees illust rat e t his
alt ernat ive account . The first t wo t rees illust rat e t he analysis in an unort hodox phrase
st ruct ure grammar t hat reject s t he presence of t he finit e VP const it uent , and t he second
t wo t rees illust rat e t he analysis in a dependency grammar. Dependency grammar reject s t he
presence of a finit e VP const it uent .[6]

Because t here is no finit e VP const it uent in t hese t rees, t he basic hierarchy of const it uent s
remains consist ent . What changes is just t he linear order of t he const it uent s. The following
t rees illust rat es t he "flat " dependency-based analysis of t he marijuana-example.
Due t o t he lack of a finit e VP const it uent , t he basic hierarchy of const it uent s is not alt ered
by inversion. However, t his analysis does not capt ure t he obvious dependency bet ween t he
main verb and t he invert ed subject .

Notes

1. For more examples and discussions of locative inversion, see Quirk et al. (1979:478), Culicover
(1997:170f.) and Greenbaum and Quirk (1990:409).

2. For further examples of directive inversion, see Quirk et al. (1979:478), Greenbaum and Quirk
(1990:410), and Downing and Locke (1992:231).

3. For further examples and discussion of copular inversion, see Greenbaum and Quirk (1990:409).

4. Moro (1997) and Mikkelsen (2005) are two examples of detailed studies of copular inversion.

5. For more examples of quotative inversion, see for instance Greenbaum and Quirk (1990:410f.) and
Downing and Locke (1992:300f.).

6. Concerning the dependency grammar rejection of a finite VP constituent, see Tesnière (1959:103–
105), Matthews (2007:17ff.), Miller (2011:54ff.), and Osborne et al. (2011:323f.).

Literature

Culicover, P. 1997. Principles and paramet ers: An int roduct ion t o synt act ic t heory. Oxford,
UK: Oxford Universit y Press.

Downing, A. and Locke, P. 1992. English grammar: A universit y course, second edit ion.
London: Rout ledge.

Greenbaum, S. and R. Quirk. 1990. A st udent 's grammar of t he English language. Harlow,
Essex, England: Longman.

Groß, T. and T. Osborne 2009. Toward a pract ical dependency grammar t heory of
discont inuit ies. SKY Journal of Linguist ics 22, 43-90.
 Mat t hews, P. H. (2007). Synt act ic Relat ions: a crit ical survey (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge:
Cambridge Universit y Press. ISBN 9780521608299. Ret rieved 24 August 2012.

Mikkelsen, Line 2005. Copular clauses: Specificat ion, predicat ion, and equat ion. Linguist ics
Today 85. Amst erdam: John Benjamins.

Miller, J. 2011. A crit ical int roduct ion t o synt ax (ht t ps://books.google.com/books?id=a0UQ
HXUzR9AC&print sec=front cover#v=onepage&q&f=false) . London: cont inuum.

Moro, A. 1997. The raising of predicat es: Predicat ive noun phrases and t he t heory of clause
st ruct ure. Cambridge: Cambridge Universit y Press.

Osborne, T., M. Put nam, and T. Groß 2011. Bare phrase st ruct ure, label-less t rees, and
specifier-less synt ax: Is Minimalism becoming a dependency grammar? The Linguist ic
Review 28, 315–364.

Quirk, R. S. Greenbaum, G. Leech, and J. Svart vik. 1979. A grammar of cont emporary English.
London: Longman.

Tesnière, L. 1959. Élemént s de synt axe st ruct urale. Paris: Klincksieck.

Tesnière, L. 1969. Élemént s de synt axe st ruct urale, 2nd edit ion. Paris: Klincksieck.

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