An inversion means the change of word order in a sentence or a clause. The concept of subject-verb inversion is applied to sentences with main constituent order Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), meaning that the inverted order is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). Though they are more common in written English than in spoken English, certain informal expressions like So do I, So did I, So am I, So have I, So can I, So must I, Neither can I and Nor can I occur quite commonly in conversational English.
The above expressions are used in short answers in spoken English to express agreement with what has been said in the first statement. So is here followed by inverted word order: auxiliary verb + subject:
* ;A: I can solve the problem in two minutes. B: So can I.
* ;A: Ramesh has two laptops at home. B: So have I.
* ;A: I’m going to be on leave tomorrow. B: So am I.
* ;I can’t have a raw egg for breakfast and neither can my son.
* ;I wouldn’t go out in the hot sun and nor would any sensible person.
* ;A: I am not interested in attending the meeting. B: Neither am I.
Subject-verb inversion takes place after fronted adverbial particle or fronted place adverbial and after a fronted-ing or past participle clause. After ideas expressing place also, the subject and the verb invert in English. Here are examples:
*;Here comes the student who got the first rank.
*;Nowhere will you find such brilliant students.
*;On the desk is the document you need to carry for the interview.
*Standing on the desk is James.
*;Lost among the old books was our founder’s autobiography.
* Into the kitchen ran the kitten.
When the comparative form is the complement of the ‘be’ verb, the subject-verb inversion takes place.
* ;Taller than your brother is your cousin.
* ;No less impressive than the invention of the laser was the development of the wheel.
When words such as ‘never’, ‘only’ and ‘rarely’ occur at the beginning of sentences, subject-verb inversion takes place. Look at these examples:
* ;Never did I say anything against you.
*;Only after 11pm can I finish the report
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk