英语句子的自然语序是主语在前，谓语在后。但有时为了强调某一部分或其它原因，谓语需要全部或部分移到主语的前面，或把宾语、表语置于主语之前，这就构成了倒装语序。倒装语序按其形式可分为完全倒装(谓语动词全部置于主语之前)和部分倒装(将助动词、系动词、情态动词置于主语之前)；按其作用又分为语法倒装(用倒装语序表达某种语法概念，如疑问句、条件句等)和修辞倒装(用倒装语序起到某种修辞目的，如强调句子的某一部分，使句子结构平衡或上下文衔接等)。倒装语序是大学英语考试中的重点内容之一。下面结合大学英语考试的考点对其进行说明，以利于同学们深入理解。

　　一、语法倒装

　　1.用于以here，there，now，then，out，up, down，in，only，often，hence，thus，well，off，away，many a time，not only...but also, to such an extent, to such a degree, to such extremes, to such lengths, to such a point, with every justification, with good reason等副词、连接词开头的句子。例如：

　　There goes your last chance.

　　Up went the rocket into the sky.

　　To such a degree was he excited that he couldn't go to sleep that night.

　　2.用于某些状语从句

　　1)用于省略了连接词if的虚拟条件句中, had, were, should置于主语之前。例如：

　　Were there no gravity, there would be no air around the earth.

　　2)比较状语从句。例如：

　　I spend more than do my friends.

　　3)由as引导的让步状语从句。例如：

　　Hard as steel is, it will bend or break under the action of a strong force.

　　4)用在"so(+that)"和"such(+ that)"引导的结果状语从句中，so或such置于句首时，需要部分倒装。例如：

　　So absurd did he look that everyone stared at him.

　　3.地点状语后面如果有表示位置的动词(lie, live, sit, stand)或转移动词(come, go, leave)，用作主语的名词可以放在动词之后。例如：

　　At the top of the hill stands the tiny temple.

　　4.以so, nor, neither, no more开头，表示重复前句中谓语所述情况的句子。例如：

　　Energy cannot be created, and neither can it be destroyed.

　　He doesn't care much for sweets. No more do I.

　　5.句首为only加一状语(only later, only by luck, only then, only today, only yesterday, only on a rare occasion, only with difficulty等)时，常用部分倒装。例如：

　　Only by chance were you able to meet him.

　　6. "there be"句型(有时谓语也可用stand, lie, exist, remain, appear, seem等，译成"有……")。例如：

　　There stands a stone bridge across the river.

　　7.在"the +比较级，the +比较级"结构中。例如：

　　The harder you study, the happier you feel. (状语前置，表语前置)

　　二、修辞倒装

　　(一)用于强调

　　1.由于修辞的需要，下列表示否定意义的副词或短语位于句首，要采用倒装语序，用来加强语气：no, never, nowhere, not, only not, hardly, seldom, little, rarely, no longer, not until, no sooner...(than), hardly (scarcely/ barely)...(when), not a single word, not a soul, not infrequently, not often, at no time，by no means，in no case，in no way，in vain，on no account，under (in) no circumstances。例如：

　　Very seldom does he have any breakfast.

　　2.为了强调或突出句子的某一部分，要使用部分倒装或全部倒装。例如：

　　Best of all was the Christmas pudding.

　　In 1914 came the First World War.

　　(二)用于平衡句子或衔接上下文

　　1.有时句子的主语很长，为了避免头重脚轻，要把状语或表语放在句首，并将系动词置于主语的前面，使句子保持平衡。例如：

　　Gone for ever are the days when China had to depend on foreign countries for oil.

　　2.有时为了和上句衔接，把某种与上文联系紧密的成分放到句首，从而使句子全部倒装。例如：

　　New metals were being discovered. With the increase in the number of metals came an increase in the number of their alloys.

　　3.在带有助动词"be"的句子中，现在分词和过去分词可移至句首，主语移至"be"后，形成全部倒装。例如：

　　Sitting around him were his two children and a neighbor's child.

　　Buried in the sands was an ancient village.

　　三、倒装语序还用于表示祝愿和感叹的句子中。

　　例如：

　　May you live a long and happy life!

　　What a handsome young man he is!

　　(文/崔学军郭慧敏；英语辅导报大学二年级版03～04学年第34期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)