1.在以never, hardly, scarcely, rarely, barely, seldom, not only, not until, nor, little, nowhere, hardly….when, no sooner….than, by no means, under no circumstances 等开头的句子中，主谓要倒装。这些都是表示否定或半否定意义的词或词组。

　　例如：

　　Never have I come across such a difficult problem.

　　我还从没有遇到过这样困难的问题。

　　Seldom do I read such magazines. 我很少读这种杂志。

　　No sooner had they left than the bus arrived.

　　他们刚走，公共汽车就来了。

　　Never before have I met him. 我以前从未见过他。

　　Hardly did I think it possible. 我想这几乎不可能。

　　Not only should we not be afraid of difficulties, but we should try our best to overcome them.

　　我们不但应该不怕困难，而且要尽最大努力克服困难。

　　Not until midnight did it stop raining. 直到半夜雨才停。

　　(正常语序是：It did not stop raining until midnight. 注意not位置的变化)

　　Very seldom do you find that two clocks or watches exactly agree. 你很难发现两个钟或表的时间完全一样。

　　By no means will this method produce satisfactory results.

　　这种方法决不会产生令人满意的结果。

　　翻译练习(使用倒装结构)：

　　1)我从来没有读过这么一本有意思的书。

　　Never have I read such an interesting book.

　　2)她一点也不知道会发生什么事。

　　Little does she know what may happen.

　　3)我简直不相信这是真的。

　　Hardly could I believe it (to be) true.

　　4)我刚到家，就下起大雨来了。

　　No sooner had I reached home than it began to rain heavily.

　　5)最近我很少见到她。

　　Seldom have I met her recently.

　　6)爱因斯坦不仅是世界闻名的科学家，而且还是一个相当不错的小提琴家。

　　Not only was Einstein a world famous scientist, but also a fairly good violinist.

　　7)直到战争结束，他才回家。

　　Not until after the war did he return home.

　　(正常语序是： He did not return home until after the war.)

　　8)在任何情况下，我们都不应该做违反人民意愿的事。

　　Under no circumstances should we do anything against the will of the people.

　　2.在以“only+状语”开头的句子中，主谓要倒装。这里only后面必须跟有它修饰的状语或状语从句，这是关键。否则就不倒装。

　　例如：

　　Only after the war was over was man able to realize the wickedness of the atomic bomb.

　　只是在战争结束后人类才意识到原子弹的可恶。

　　(注意：only 引导的状语从句不倒装，主句倒装。)

　　Only then did I realize the importance of English.

　　只在那时我才意识到英语的重要性。

　　Only in this way can we improve ourselves.

　　只有用这种方法我们才能不断提高自己。

　　Only after you finish it can you leave.

　　只有结束它以后，你才能离开。(主句倒装)

　　注意：Only 如不在句首，或only 修饰的不是状语，则不倒装。

　　如：

　　The contract was signed only after bitter negotiations. 只有在艰苦的谈判以后，合同才得以签署。

　　(改成倒装：Only after bitter negotiations was the contract signed.)

　　Only the senior staff are allowed to use this room.

　　只许资深的职员使用这个房间。

　　Only five passengers survived the accident.

　　事故中只有五位旅客生存了下来。

　3.用于以表示处所、声音等意义的副词开头的句子。用表示运动的不及物动词(如go, come, rush, fly 等)作谓语时，为了表示生动，可将某些副词放在句首，谓语动词放在主语之前，形成倒装结构。

　　例如：

　　Away flew the birds. 鸟儿飞走了。

　　Out went the children. 孩子们出去了。

　　Down came the rain. 下起大雨来了。

　　Bang went the firecracker. 爆竹砰的一声响了。

　　The door burst open and in rushed a stranger.

　　门突然开了，一个陌生人冲了进来。

　　4.用倒装来避免头重脚轻，使句子显得平衡。这主要是因为主语过长或强调表语或状语。

　　例如：

　　At the center of the big room over there is a table that is made of wood which is imported from Brazil of South America.

　　在那边那个大房子的中央有一张用从南美洲的巴西进口的木头做成的桌子。

　　(正常语序：A table that is made of wood which is imported from Brazil of South America is at the center of the big room over there. 这句话主语和谓语间隔太长，不平衡。)

　　Still wider will be the use of radar, which plays a very important role in our national defense.

　　雷达在我们的国防事业中起着非常重要的作用，它的用处将会更广泛。

　　(正常语序：The use of radar, which plays a very important role in our national defense, will be still wider. 主语和谓语间隔太长，不平衡。)

　　Written in English on the blackboard were these words: “Merry Christmas!” 在黑板上用英语写着这么几个字：“圣诞快乐!”

　　Present at the meeting were the school headmaster, the English teacher, and the students’ parents. 出席会议的有校长、英语教师和学生们的家长。

　　Inside the pyramids are the burial rooms for the kings and queens and long passages to these rooms. 金字塔里面是国王和王后们的墓穴和通往墓穴的长通道。

　　5.其他用法

　　倒装还可用在强调表语和宾语的句子中。把表语和宾语提到主语前。

　　如：

　　Such was Albert Einstein, a simple man of great achievements.

　　爱因斯坦就是这样一个取得了伟大成就的单纯的人。

　　Such was the story he told me. 这就是他给我讲的故事。

　　Happy is he who devotes himself to the cause of communism.