Inversion

Inversion is a way of reversing the usual or expected word order to bring emphas
is to a sentence, to make it more negative, to make it stronger, more dramatic.
Compare these two sentences:
I have never seen such a large cat!
Never have I seen such a large cat!
You can see the effect of inverting the subject/verb and bringing the frequency
adverb to the start of the sentence. Here are some similar examples.
Rarely had he been spoken to in such a way.
Never had he known about the child and it was a huge shock to him.
Apart from these adverbs, there are other time expressions which are often used
in this way.
Examples:
Hardly had he entered the room when she left.
No sooner had he asked for silence than one of the student laughed loudly.
Scarcely had he opened the front door when the phone rang.
The words "so" and "such" also employ inversion for dramatic effect.
Examples:
So fat was the cat that they went to see a specialist vet.
Such is the age of the tree that local police are worried it will soon fall dow
n.
Conditional sentences can become far more formal sounding when inversion is used
.
Examples:
Were I to win the lottery, I would buy a new dictionary.
Had he known about the fire, he wouldn't have mentioned it to her.
Note: Be careful not to use inversion too much. Its use has a very special meani
ng, either to formalise or dramatise statements. Its overuse, particularly in co
nversation, is not advised.