Simple Inversion: I will never or never will I? - English In A Minute

Never before – probably –

has inversion been explained so quickly or so simply,

so pay attention because that's what we're doing.

Inversion is something we do in English

for emphasis, formality or style.

I will never dance.

This sentence follows normal word order:

subject, auxiliary verb, adverb, verb.

'Never' is a negative or limiting adverb.

Other examples are: rarely, hardly and not often.

First, move the negative adverb

to the beginning of the sentence.

Then invert, or swap,

the order of the subject and auxiliary verb.

Never will I dance.

If your sentence is affirmative

and doesn't have an auxiliary verb

– for example, the present or past simple –

then add one.

Rarely do I wake up on time.

Remember, it's for emphasis!

So only do it for a good reason.