Inversion in English

Question

Is it correct to invert the subordinate sentence in English? For instance:

When the time comes, so shall we reign the land!

If it is correct, what is the rule? Or is it only in old English?

I am confused about what you are referring to. Are you talking about the inverted verb-subject order in the second clause? — Kosmonaut, Mar 05 '11 at 15:34
But here the first clause is subordinate. The inverted one is the main clause. — Jason Orendorff, Apr 15 '11 at 18:06
This does not answer the question. And there is no inversion involved at all. — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Aug 18 '19 at 13:41

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 05 '11 at 06:49

5

That is an archaic construction (and not limited to subordinate clauses/sentences); one wouldn't use it today except in dialog in a period piece.

answered Mar 05 '11 at 06:49

bye

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Is something wicked this way comes also archaic? – sterz Mar 05 '11 at 06:57
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Yes -- it's a quotation from Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act IV, Scene I). – bye Mar 05 '11 at 07:07
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"I like cinema." "So do I." – apaderno Mar 05 '11 at 15:41
Also archaic, I'm afraid. (Even that meaning of the word so only holds in certain specific phrases.) Old forms hold on in frequently-used words and phrases even as the world changes around them. There are a few individual idiomatic phrases you just have to know -- like so do I and how to pluralize ox. There is no general rule of grammar to apply. – bye Mar 05 '11 at 23:14
That meaning of so works in a surprising variety of places; see this question. But it is definitely grammatically unique. – Jason Orendorff Apr 15 '11 at 17:58
Subject-auxiliary inversion still happens in questions (Do you like cinema?) and a few other places (Not since childhood had she eaten cotton candy; Only on Fridays does he go to the bar.) – Jason Orendorff Apr 15 '11 at 18:17
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@Jason Orendorff: Indeed - there are plenty more situations were inversion happens - examples similar to "so" (Nor do I; As do I; Never have I...); questions (as you mention); fronted adverbials (In the house lives an old woman); comparatives ("Better still are the ones that follow") and so on. Inversion in general is far from archaic. – psmears Jun 29 '11 at 17:27

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