倒裝主要目的是為了加強語氣，倒裝的步驟是將be動詞或助動詞移至主詞前面。倒裝結構如下：
1. 否定副詞擺在首，則後面的主要子句要使用倒裝結構，這些否定副詞包括never(從未)，scarcely, hardly, rarely, barely, seldom(幾乎不)，neither, nor(也不)，no more, no longer(不再)，by no means(絕不)，not only, only, not until等等。
例：1. No longer do people like his novels.
2. Never have I seen such an interesting film.
3. I wasn’t there；neither was my brother.
4. Only when I was twenty, did I begin to study English.
2. If所引導的假設語氣亦可使用倒裝結構。
例：1. Were my brother here, he would protect me.
2. Had you asked me, I might have told you the answer.
3. 比較結構之倒裝：
A+ V1+ as…as+ B+ V2
A+ V1+ more…than+ B+ V2
這種結構中，V2可以移至B的前面，成為倒裝，但亦可不移。
例：1. Country children can read as quickly as city children can.
= Country children can read as quickly as can city children.
2. Women in their society enjoy more admiration(推崇) than women in our society do.
= Women in their society enjoy more admiration than do women in our society.
4. 表達“地方”的介系詞片語擺在句首的倒裝。
例：1. Under the tree stood an old man. (= An old man stood under the tree)
2. In the drawer are some papers. (= Some papers are in the drawer)
3. In the south of Mexico lies a beautiful city. (= A beautiful city lies in the south of Mexico)
註：表達“位於”“在於”(lie, stand), “發生”(occur)，“存在”(exist)等動詞的倒裝結構可以不加助動詞。
5. Among表達“列舉”所引導的倒裝結構：Among+ NP+ be+ S
例：Among the most important romantic poets in the eighteenth century were John Byron, John Keats, and William Wordsworth.
= John Byron, John Keats, and William Wordsworth were among the most important romantic poets in the eighteenth century.
