Subject-verb inversion

A. Subject-verb inversion after place adverbialsWhen an adverb or an adverbial expression of place comes in front position (at the beginning of the sentence), there is inversion of the subject and verb:

Down the hill rolled the children.
Round the corner was a nice café.

This is a rhetorical device used mainly in formal and literary styles, however, it may also occur in everday conversation:

Here comes the bus.
There goes Sally.Here's my number.

But if the subject is a personal pronoun, there is no inversion:

Here it comes.
There she goes.
Here it is.

B. Subject-verb inversion in direct speech
In direct speech, if the quotation precedes the reporting verb, the subject and the reporting verb can be inverted:

"I'm so sorry," Maria said / said Maria.

If the subject is long, usually there is inversion:

"Good morning," said the stranger in the black jacket.

But if the subject is a personal pronoun, there is no inversion:

"Good morning," he said.

C. Subject-verb inversion in news headlines
In news headlines, if the reporting verb is in end position, the subject and the reporting verb may be inverted:

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