Inversion
SAT glossary · Course Foundations
Definition
A construction in which the finite verb precedes its subject ('Among the manuscripts were three letters'; 'There are several explanations'), where the ear fails completely. Test by un-inverting to normal order; note also that a colon can never be placed between such a fronted verb and the subject that follows.
Inversion in plain English
Inversion is when the normal word order gets flipped, and the main verb actually comes BEFORE its subject instead of after it — like 'Among the manuscripts were three letters' (instead of the more normal 'Three letters were among the manuscripts') or 'There are several explanations.' This flipped order can make grammar mistakes much harder to hear by ear, since your instincts are trained on normal word order. The fix is to test it by mentally UN-inverting the sentence back to standard order and seeing if it still sounds right. One extra rule worth knowing: a colon can never be placed directly between a fronted (moved-up) verb like this and the subject that follows it.
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