Sometimes, the canonical order of the sentence in English is broken, usually because we want to emphasize a particular part of the sentence by placing it at the beginning.
a) Direct object.
When the direct object is fronted, the sentence does not suffer further changes.
I watched a movie with John
A movie I watched with John
b) Adverb of time
When the adverb of time (or any other expression of time) is fronted, the sentence keeps its canonical order.
I went to the movies yesterday
Yesterday I went to the movies
c) Indirect object and other adverbs
When other parts of the sentence are fronted, this suffers a subject-verb inversion (as much as it happens in questions)*** The exception would be long subjects (see example below)
I told the story to John
To John did I tell the story
I walk my dog in the park
In the park do I walk my dog
MORE EXAMPLES
Waddle his name is.
Rich I’ve never been.
Fish I can eat.
That I will tell you another time.
This vase I want you to sell to the Americans.
Linda he believed to be less innocent than Jim.
Out darted a mouse.
In the corner of the room was a gas ring, a kettle and a single glass.
Only after a while did he notice that his mother was crying.
In the distance a sunlit range of mountains could be seen very clearly. (long subject is not inverted)***
After the birth of their son, Lily had been unable to cope with all the housework.
II. Fronting of the complement of a preposition
This computer I’ve had a lot of trouble with.
Carl is wonderful to work with.
Democracy is worth fighting for. (It is worth fighting for democracy)
Not only... but also
This expression requires a subject-verb inversion.
Not only did he bring his wife but also his children
Conditional
There are 3 forms for the 3rd conditional:
a) If we had taken it into account, John would not have lost his job
b) Should we had taken it into account, John would not have lost his job
c) Had we taken it into account, John would not have lost his job
Notice that b) and c) require a subject-verb inversion
Read more on Inversion here
Inversions In English
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