Editing English grammar (section)

===Other uses of inversion===
The clause structure with an inverted subject and verb, used to form questions as described above, is also used in certain types of declarative sentences. This occurs mainly when the sentence begins with adverbial or other phrases that are essentially negative or contain words such as ''only'', ''hardly'', etc.: ''Never have I known someone so stupid; Only in France can such food be tasted''.

In elliptical sentences (see below), inversion takes place after ''so'' (meaning "also") as well as after the negative ''neither'': ''so do I, neither does she''.

Inversion can also be used to form conditional clauses, beginning with ''should'', ''were'' (subjunctive), or ''had'', in the following ways:
*''should I win the race'' (equivalent to ''if I win the race'');
*''were he a soldier'' (equivalent to ''if he were a soldier'');
*''were he to win the race'' (equivalent to ''if he were to win the race'', i.e. ''if he won the race'');
*''had he won the race'' (equivalent to ''if he had won the race'').
Other similar forms sometimes appear but are less common. There is also a construction with subjunctive ''be'', as in ''be he alive or dead'' (meaning "no matter whether he is alive or dead").

Use of inversion to express a third-person imperative is now mostly confined to the expression ''long live X'', meaning "let X live long".