Order of Speech Elements

The English sentence is said to be built according to rigid patterns of word order. It means that any deviation from usual order of words which is permissible is very effective stylistically.

Stylistic inversion. Any kind of deviation from the usual order of words in the sentence is called inversion. Stylistic inversion is placing a part of the sentence into a position unusual for it for the purpose of emphasis. Compare:

«They slid down» - «Down they slid».

The initial position of a word or a word-group which do not usually occupy this position makes them prominent and emphatic. The initial position may be occupied by various members of the sentence: predicative, verbal predicate, adverbial modifier, direct object, prepositional object.

Other kinds of inversion produce similar stylistic effect. Thus, if a sentence-member stands in the final instead of the initial position it also becomes prominent. This device is often used in poetry, e.g.:

«He had moccasins enchanted,

Magic moccasins of deer-skin...» (Longfellow)