Kinds of Inversion in English
The term 'word order' is used to refer to the order of elements in a sentence. The basic word order of English is subject-predicate-object-adverbial, e.g.:
Richard laid his hat and gloves on the table (D. Robins).
Inversion, according to English grammarians, has two primary forms: subject-predicate inversion and subject-operator inversion. In subject-predicate (or full) inversion, the subject is preceded by the entire predicate. Subject-predicate inversion is most often found with an initial place or time adverbial, a short intransitive or copular verb, and a long subject that introduces new information, e.g.:
Inside was a large brown envelope and a piece of lined paper (J. Parsons).
In subject-operator (or partial) inversion, the subject is preceded only by the operator. The notional (or lexical) verb goes after the subject. In other words, the subject in partial inversion is framed by the predicate. Partial inversion is typical of interrogative sentences. Cf.:
Does she tike London*? (D. Robins).
How did you find me! (J. Parsons).
Only questions to the subject and its attribute are built on the subject-predicate principle. Cf.:
Who is coming to teal (O. Wilde).
What has kept you! (A.J. Cronin).
Which rooms are on the second floor! (Lingaphone English Course).
In reported and indirect questions, the subject a!so precedes the predicate. We use reported questions to report someone else's questions, whereas we use indirect questions when we ask for information. Reported questions are introduced with the verb ask and end with a full stop. Indirect questions are introduced with Could you tell me ...? Do you know...? I wonder... I want to know... I doubt..., etc. If the matrix clause has partial inversion, the indirect question ends with a question mark. If the matrix clause is built on the subject-predicate principle, the indirect question ends with a full stop. Cf.:
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He asked me where he could put it (V. Evans) - reported w/i-question.
He asked if I had enjoyed the party (V. Evans) - reported _yes/«oquestion.
Do you know where he can put if? (V. Evans) - indirect w/i-question.
/ want to know if we are going out tonight (V. Evans) -indirect yes/no-question.
Partial inversion is also found in conditional syntactic units when the conjunction if is omitted. Cf:
Should he turn up, tell him to wait for me (V. Evans).
Were I you, I would speak to her (V. Evans).
Had he known, he would have told us (V. Evans).
However, in contrast to partially inverted interrogative sentences, which are characteristic of conversational English, partially inverted asyndetic conditional syntactic units are more typical of literary English.
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P.S. Zhuikova has put forward a hypothesis that there is a third type of inversion: when the predicate is framed by the subject. We find it in constructions beginning with existential there, e.g.:
There is a sofa in the living room (V. Evans).
These constructions express the notion of existence. They have a discrete subject: the grammatical subject there (R. Quirk et al.) precedes the existential predicate is, the notional subject a sofa follows it.
If we accepted the hypothesis, we would be bound to admit that constructions with existential there stand somewhat apart from other two-member sentences. In the declarative form, they have partial inversion, in the interrogative form - full inversion, e.g.:
Are there any children in the park? (V. Evans). - The entire existential predicate are precedes the discrete subject there ... any children.
The word order in interrogative 'sentence representatives' P.S. Zhuikova qualifies as 'clipped' inversion because the subject precedes the operator, but there is no notional part of the predicate. Cf:
I hate this man. -Do you? (K. Burke).
/ haven't danced with anyone in years. - Neither have I (K. Burke).
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Functions of Word Order
Word order fulfils various functions. The two main functions of word order are grammatical and communicative. The essence of the grammatical principle lies in the fact that the sentence position of an element is determined by its syntactic function. The communicative principle manifests itself in that the sentence position of an element varies depending on its communicative value.
In inflected languages, such as Russian, where the relations between words are expressed by grammatical morphemes, it is the communicative principle that plays a leading role in determining the order of words [V. Mathesius]. It is common practice to arrange sentence elements in theme-rheme sequence, i.e. to start with given information and move on to new information in accordance with the logical laws of developing thought. D. Biber and his co-authors call it the information-flow principle.
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However, sometimes it is necessary to intensify this or that part of the sentence. There are two emphatic positions in the sentence: final and initial [O. Jespersen; D. Biber et al.J. So speakers/writers in inflected languages place communicatively the most prominent part either in the final or in the initial position.
In analytical languages, such as English, the grammatical principle comes to the fore [V. Mathesius]. Word order is at the heart of English syntax [D. Crystal], and most of English grammar is taken up with the rules governing the order in which sentence elements can appear. The importance of this domain can be seen from the following set of examples, where the meaning of the sentence alters fundamentally once the order varies. Cf.:
Dog chases postman. /Postman chases dog (D. Crystal).
They are outside. /Are they outsidel (D. Crystal).
Only I saw Mary. /I saw only Mary (D. Crystal).
The man with a dog saw me. / The man saw me with a dog (D. Crystal).
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The Role of the Grammatical Word Order Principle in English
The sentence position of the following parts is grammatically
fixed in English.
1. The subject in declarative sentences and in subject-questions is placed in the sentence initial position, before the
predicate. Cf.:
She turned to Tom (R. Wright).
Who broke the window? (R. Murphy).
Which switch operates this machine? (R. Murphy).
In other interrogative sentences the subject is framed by the
predicate. Cf.:
Did you see it happen? (S. Sheldon).
How did it happen? (S. Sheldon).
Exclamative sentences begin with what or how followed by the word the speaker/writer wants to emphasize. But in contrast to the w/?-mterrogative element, the wfc-exclamative element does not cause partial inversion. The subject in exclamative sentences precedes the predicate just as it does in declarative sentences and in subject-questions. Cf.:
What wonderful weather we're having (R. Close).
How slowly he walksl (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English).
2. As opposed to the subject, the object in declarative
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sentences is placed after the predicate. Cf.:
The man struck the bear (Ch. Fries).
The bear struck the man (Ch. Fries).
There is no formal difference between the bear in the first and second sentences: both are characterized by a zero exponent of the common case. But in the sentence The man struck the bear, the component the bear is qualified as an object because it follows the predicate struck, in the sentence The bear struck the man, the component the bear is regarded as the subject because it precedes the predicate struck [O. Jespersen; Ch. Fries].
In exclamative sentences, the object often occurs in the initial
position, e.g.:
What wonderfully blue eyes you have, Ernest! (O. Wilde).
3. If there are two objects in the sentence, a non-prepositional recipient object goes before an affected object; a prepositional recipient object goes after an affected object. Cf.:
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/'// send you the cheque this evening (A. Christie). We owe everything to him (L. Untermeyer).
4. Situational modifiers (temporal and locative), which modify
the predication as a whole, tend to occur at the beginning of the
sentence, before both the subject and The predicate, e.g.:
After fifteen minutes, he could wait no longer (T. W. Hard).
Outside the house, he saw a big dog on the sidewalk (L. Jones).
The final position of situational modifiers in English is also fairly frequent, e.g.:
He was murdered, years ago (J. Parsons).
5. The position of adverbials depends on the semantic
category they belong to. Manner adverbials are generally placed
after the predicate-verb if there is no object in the sentence, e.g.:
Time passed slowly (J. Parsons).
He moved slowly toward it (T.W. Hard).
If there is a non-prepositional object in a sentence, a manner adverbial usually goes after the object, e.g.:
I got this job very quickly (J. Parsons).
If there is a prepositional object in a sentence, a manner adverbial generally stands between the predicate-verb and the prepositional object, though it is also found after the prepositional object. Cf.:
He searched clumsily for his watch (T.W, Hard).
The Hawaiian looked at him strangely (T.W. Hard).
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Very often, manner adverbials are placed before the notional verb of the predicate, e.g.:
The Californian slowly opened his eyes (T.W. Hard).
These ladies were deferentially received by Miss Temple (Ch. Bronte).
In exclamative sentences, manner adverbials are often placed in the initial position, before both the subject and the predicate, e. g.
How well she plays tennisl (A.S. Hornby).
The most frequent position of single word adverbials of indefinite time, frequency, and degree is before the synthetic form of the predicate-verb and after the first auxiliary verb when the predicate-verb has an analytical form. Cf.:
I never believed him (J. Parsons).
I had never loved anybody like this before (D. Robins).
He often swims in the lake ... (I. Murdoch).
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Do you often go to the theatre*? (Intermediate English Course).
I quite agree -with you (R. Murphy).
They haven't quite finished their dinner yet (R. Murphy).
A degree adverbial expressed by the adverb too precedes the adjective it modifies, e.g.:
The red shoes are too expensive (V. Evans).
A degree adverbial expressed by the adverb enough usually goes after the adjective, but before the noun it modifies. Cf.:
The green shoes are not cheap enough (V. Evans).
Have you got enough money to lend me five pounds? (M. Swan).
Enough can be used after the noun it modifies, but this is rather formal or literary, e.g.:
If only there were money enough for us to travel there\ (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English).
When there is a place adverbial and an adverbial of definite time in a sentence, the place adverbial generally precedes the time adverbial, e.g.:
They went to the cinema on Saturday evening (A.S. Hornby).
If there are two place or time adverbials in a sentence, the more specific adverbial usually goes before the more general adverbial. Cf.:
He lives in a small village in Kent (A.S. Hornby).
Rachel heard the announcement on the nine o'clock news that night (J. Parsons).
When there are more than two adverbials in a sentence, they go in the following order: manner - place - time, e.g.:
He spoke well at the meeting yesterday (V. Evans).
When there is a verb of movement, then the order is: place -manner-time, e.g.:
She goes to work on foot every day (V. Evans).
6. The position of single word attributes is grammatically fixed with respect to the substantival component they modify. Single word attributes generally occur in preposition to the substantival component they modify. If there are several prepositive attributes, their sequence is predetermined by their part-of-speech nature, first of all. Noun attributes go immediately before the substantival component they modify, e.g.:
a large conference hall (M. Swan).
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Adjective attributes are heterogeneous. Linguists draw a distinction between 'opinion' and 'fact' adjectives. 'Opinion' adjectives that tell us what one thinks about something (beautiful, bad, etc.) always go before 'fact' adjectives that provide us with objective information about something (red, round, etc.). Cf.:
a beautiful red dress (V. Evans),
a lovely big flat (V. Evans).
When there are two or more adjectives of the same category, the more general adjective goes before the more specific one, e.g.:
a nice friendly dog (V. Evans).
Tact' adjectives go in the following order: size - age - shape - colour — origin — material, e.g.:
a large old rectangular brown French wooden bed (V. Evans).
It goes without saying, that there are exceptions from most of the rules. For instance, the place of the subject in regard to the predicate in declarative sentences is rigidly fixed only when there is an affected object in the sentence. When there is no affected object in the sentence, the subject can be placed after the predicate, e.g.:
High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince (O. Wilde).
The non-prepositional affected object can be separated from the predicate by a prepositional recipient object or an adverbial when it is longer than the prepositional recipient object or adverbial (the so-called rhythmic function of word order), e.g.:
1 had at heart a strange and anxious thought (Ch. Bronte").
However, exceptions only prove the rules.
The Role of the Communicative Word Order Principle in English
Since word order in an English sentence is grammatically fixed, it is much less susceptible to communicative needs. Nevertheless, it does allow of certain fluctuations in accordance with the changing communicative task. Thus, native speakers of English sometimes emphasize the communicative prominence of predicatives, objects, and adverbials by placing them in the emphatic initial position. Cf.:
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Hard work it was (A. Christie).
A fine view you have here (A. Christie).
For the safety of England and Edward they fell (G. Byron).
Fronting (especially of adverbials) is often accompanied by inversion. Cf.:
In came the conductor ... (E.S. Connell) - full inversion.
Silently and patiently did the doctor bear all this (Ch. Dickens) - partial inversion.
Only in Paris can you buy shoes like that (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English) - partial inversion.
Fronting is relatively rare in all registers, although this device is used more in fiction and academic prose than conversation or news. Different types of fronting are preferred in each register.
In academic prose, the most common form is predicative fronting, which aids cohesion by linking sentences.
Conversation and fiction more commonly use fronting of objects. These elements are fronted for focus rather than for cohesion- (Focus is an element or part of a sentence given prominence by intonational or other means.).
In fiction, where varied sentence structure and stylistic effect are especially valued, fronting occurs more frequently than in conversation.
Although fronting is relatively rare, it is an important option for focus and cohesion; its rarity makes these effects even more conspicuous when they do occur.
Besides, there exist in English special constructions that bring particular elements of the sentence into additional focus. The construction with the introductory there and the passive construction with an agent object serve to increase the communicative value of the subject by moving it closer to the emphatic final position. Cf:
A cat is under the bed. — There is a cat under the bed (V. Evans).
William the Conqueror built the Tower of London. — The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror (V. Evans).
The construction with the introductory it is used to emphasize the communicative value of all sentence parts, except the predicate, by moving them closer either to the emphatic final or the emphatic initial position. The subject is brought into focus by being placed
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closer to the emphatic final position, the object and the adverbial -by being placed closer to the emphatic initial position. Cf.:
The TV ~woke me up. — // was the TV that woke me up (V. Evans).
Did you meet him here7 — Was it here that you met him? (V. Evans).
In poetry, word order is often regulated by considerations of metre.
To sum up. Word order in all languages performs a number of functions. The main function of word order is predetermined by the nature of the language.
20. POLYCOMPONENT SYNTACTIC UNITS Weak Points of the Traditional Conception
In traditional grammar, polypredicative syntactic units are called composite sentences. Composite sentences are said to consist of two or more clauses. Taking into consideration the nature of the clause relationships, English grammarians classify composite sentences into three types: I) compound sentences, 2) complex sentences, 3) compound-complex sentences [W.O. Clough; R.B. Allen; P. Roberts; W.O. Birk; V.F. Hooper, C. Gale; D.W. Clark, M.D. MacKenzie; R.M. Albaugh; B.L. Liles; Ch. Lehman; D. Crystal].
A compound sentence is a sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses linked by coordination. Each coordinate clause can stand as a sentence on its own, e.g.:
The water was a deep blue, and the sty was clear (T. W. Hard). —* The water was a deep blue. And the sky was clear.
A complex sentence is a sentence consisting of an independent (or main) clause and one or more dependent (or subordinate) clauses introduced by means of subordination. Dependent clauses cannot stand as sentences on their own, e.g.:
Poirot was waiting on the doorstep when I returned with the taxi (A. Christie). —» Poirot was waiting on the doorstep. *When 1 returned with the taxi.
A compound-complex sentence is a sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses,
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e.g.: There have been no crops, and the animals on which many people depend died long ago (L. and J. Soars), where the second coordinate clause contains a relative subordinate clause, on which many people depend.
The traditional classification of composite sentences has a number of weak points. In the first place, the components of composite sentences are always finite clauses, i.e. predicative units. Polypredicative syntactic units make up the bulk of polycomponent syntactic units. But in speech there exist syntactic units which, alongside of predicative units, comprise non-predicative 'communicatives' and which consist only of non-predicative 'communicatives'. Cf:
So you 're a sailor, huh? - No, I'm not a sailor (P. Viney).
Could you give me the code for France? - Yes, of course. It's 33, but you need to dial 00 first (J. Comfort).
In the second place, not only coordination can link independent clauses. Accumulation serves the same purpose. Cf.:
I'm not interested in your opinions - I just want to know the facts (Longman Essential Activator).
You know it's the right thing to do. - I know, I know (L. Jones).
But you helped her, didn 'tyou? (J. Parsons).
In the third place, the so-called main clause in complex sentences is not always independent. In a great number of cases, the main clause and the subordinate clause are interdependent and neither can stand as a sentence on its own. Cf.:
What's done can't be undone (A.E. Coppard).
That's what you think (R. MacDonald).
Sometimes the main clause is nothing but a copular verb, e.g.:
What I say is what I think (D. Crystal).
D. Crystal refers such sentences to simple. He writes, 'The sentence "What I say is what I think" may seem complex at first sight, but in fact it has a simple three-part structure, just like "That is that'".
If we started on the assumption that a complex sentence is a sentence that consists of one main clause and at least one subordinate clause and if we regarded the main clause as an independent clause, then we would be bound to admit that D. Crystal is right: the sentence What I say is what I think is not
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complex. The question arises, however, why D. Crystal refers to complex sentences constructions of the type:
That he argued was a shame (D. Crystal).
/ said that it was time (D. Crystal).
The result was what I wanted (D. Crystal).
As he himself shows in his book, they also have a simple three-part structure:
That he argued was a shame. —»• // was a shame.
I said that it was time- —* I said something.
The result was what I wanted. —> The result was good.
In the fourth place, it is not always easy to draw a distinction between complex and compound sentences as similar meaning relationships are sometimes expressed through subordination and coordination. For instance, the subordinate w/zen-clause in the following example is temporal in meaning:
When Monsieur Savlon came back to clear the table he asked me in perfectly good English, "You do not like snails?" (S. Greenbaum).
A similar meaning can be conveyed through coordination with and:
Monsieur Savlon came back to clear the table and he asked me in perfectly good English, "You do not like snails?" (S. Greenbaum).
The subordinator when makes the time relation explicit. If the clauses are coordinated by and, the assumption is that the two events (his return to the table and his question) are in chronological order.
In the fifth place, it is not only sentences that can be compound and complex but also sentencoids and 'sentence representatives'. Cf.:
Lovely country and interesting people (H. Adams) -compound sentencoid.
Certainly I've had experience. - What experience? - The experience you're talking about (J. O'Hara) - complex sentencoid.
/ don't care, I like him. She doesn 't but I do (A. Ayckbourn) -compound 'sentence representative'.
He doesn'? know I'm alive. - He didn't when we first met (J. Braine) - complex 'sentence representative'.
In the sixth place, the traditional classification of composite sentences disregards polypredicative syntactic units with parenthetic clauses, e.g.:
The news has spread fast, I'm afraid (I. Shaw).
In the seventh place, the domain of mixed polypredicative syntactic units is not restricted to compound-complex sentences. Thus, the following polypredicative syntactic unit is characterized by interplay of coordination, subordination, and parenthesis:
That's exactly what I thought yesterday, but this morning, if you please, she sent for her box (A. Christie).
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