Subject–verb inversion in English

The emphasis may occur, for instance, to establish a contrast of the subject with another entity in the discourse context.

Locative inversion in modern English is a vestige of the V2 order associated with earlier stages of the language.

Copular inversion occurs when a predicative nominal switches positions with the subject in a clause where the copula be is the finite verb.

Since English predominantly has SV order, it will tend to view whichever noun phrase immediately precedes the finite verb as the subject.

But if one acknowledges that copular inversion has occurred, one can argue that the objection is the subject; and A concern, the predicate.

This freedom is consistent with an analysis in terms of rightwards shifting of the subject, where heavier constituents tend to follow lighter ones.

In particular, the traditional subject–predicate division of the clause (S → NP VP) is difficult to maintain in light of instances of subject–verb inversion such as Into the room will come a unicorn.

In order to maintain the traditional subject–predicate division, one has to assume movement (or copying) on a massive scale.

The tree on the left shows the canonical analysis of the clause, whereby the sentence is divided into two immediate constituents, the subject Bill and the finite VP crouched in the bush.

The account suggested with the second tree is the sort of analysis that one is likely to find in Government and Binding Theory or the Minimalist Program.