inversion

Question

When an adverbial prepositional phrase is fronted into the initial position of the sentence, the inversion occurs.
ex. On the bed lay the dog.

And how about this word order?
ex. On the bed, the dog lay.
I think comma disintegrates the strong connection shown in the first example so that inversion is impossible to occur in this second case. Am I on the right track?

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

That comma is wrong.

That example isn't natural, by the way. We don't really talk like that.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Inversion is virtually obligatory with 'here' and 'there' and fairly common with short adverbs when the subject is a noun (not a pronoun):

Here comes the bus. But, Here it comes
There goes Beckham. But, There he goes.
A car drew up and out got Madonna.

With longer adverbial expressions, inversion tends to be confined to descriptive writing, and to longer subjects.

On the bed sat a dog, two kittens, a guinea pig and a hungry-looking hamster.
By the side of the lake stood a small thatched cottage, which looked like something from a fairy story.

RandomGuy · Answer

OK, I totally misread the question.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Really? I agreed with you. I don't think " On the bed lay the dog" is very natural. Most of use would say, "The dog lay on the bed". Inversion is perhaps less unlikely if we are introducing a new indefinite subject: "On the bed lay a dog".

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the answer,
The information in your answer is really helpful.
If it is ok with you, can I be informed about what grammar book you refer to?

Fivejedjon · Answer

cho7712If it is ok with you, can I be informed about what grammar book you refer to?

I did not refer to any grammar book; had I done so, I would have credited it. I normally answer from my own knowledge.

If you are interested, Swan says:

When an adverbial expression of place or direction comes at the beginning of a clause, intransitive verbs are often put before their subject. This happens especially when a new indefinite subject is being introduced. The structure is most common in literary and descriptive writing.

Under a tree was lying one of the biggest men I had ever seen.
On the grass sat an enormous frog.
Directly in front of then stood a great castle.
Along the road came a strange procession.

This structure is often used in speech with here, there and other short adverb particles.

Here comes Freddy. (NOT ~~Here Freddy comes~~.)
There goes your brother.
I stopped the car, and up walked a policeman.
The door opened and out came Angela's boyfriend.

If the subject is a pronoun, it goes before the verb.

Here she comes. ( NOT ~~Here comes~~ ~~she~~.) Off we go!

Swan, Michael, (2005.281), Practical English Usage (3rd edn) Oxford: OUP

Any similarity between my response and Swan's is not coincidental. I have made constant use of Swan since I acquired the first edition of PEU some thirty years ago.

Comprehensive grammars such as those of Quirk et al (1985)and Huddleston and Pullum (2002) cover more topics and all topics in greater depth but I have not found anything to beat Swan for a straightforward and accurate picture of English usage today. It is a book I have recommended to countless hundreds of students and trainee teachers.

inversion

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