Stylistic inversion in English: A reconsideration

We argue that the phenomenon described and discussed in the literature as l ocative or stylistic inversion in English is actually a conflation of two q uite different constructions: on the one hand, light inversion (LI), in whi ch the postverbal NP element can be phonologically and structurally extreme ly simple, possibly consisting of a single name, and on the other hand heav y inversion (HI), where the postverbal element is heavy in the sense of Hea vy NP Shift.(1) We present evidence that the preverbal PP in LI patterns wi th subjects but the PP in HI is a syntactic topic, using a variety of tests which distinguish A-positions from (A) over bar -positions. Other signific ant differences between HI and LI, such as the classes of verbs which suppo rt these two constructions respectively, and the differential behavior of H I and LI with respect to adverbial placement, provide support for interpret ing HI as a case of Heavy NP Shift applying to subject constituents.