Dr SPOCA!!S = SUBJECT A Noun Phrase which refers to the entity which is the

topic of the sentence (what the sentence is about), andif the predicator of the sentence is a dynamic verb,the subject is the "doer" of the action. Usually comesfirst in the sentence, before the Predicator.

My son went to university in Wales.To perform at Madison Square Gardens was her highest ambition.

P = PREDICATOR A Verb Phrase which expresses the action/process orrelationship in the sentence.The tiny ladybug landed on my arm.A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger.

O = OBJECT A Noun Phrase which refers to the entity which is the recipient of the action/process. Only occurs with transitivePredicators. Usually comes after the Predicator.

The dog bit the postman.Fifteen children from the school choir will be singing African folk songs.

C = COMPLEMENT A Noun Phrase or Adjective Phrase which normally comes after a linking Predicator and expresses some attribute or role of the SUBJECT.

He is the father of three.Time is the great healer.Those animals were very rare Siberian tigers.His client became more and more angry.The remaining problem is where to find the

money.

Sometimes it expresses an attribute or role of the OBJECT.

Everyone thought him an idiot.The accusation made me livid.The whole town wanted the outlaw dead.

Almost always comes after the Predicator.Her voice sounds lovely.The tea tastes foul.The first thing I did was open all the windows.

A = ADVERBIAL An Adverbial, Prepositional or Noun Phrase which usually specifies some condition related to the Predicator, e.g. when, where or how some action occurred. It is by far the most mobile of the sentence elements, and can occur in many different positions in a sentence (the other four sentence elements are much more fixed). Its most normal position is at the end of the sentence, however.

Hence the ordering S-P-O-C-A

More explanation can be obtained from: http://www.tesol-direct.com/guide-to-english-grammar/subjects-and-objects

What phrases will we find in each of the sentence elements?S Noun PhraseO Noun PhraseP Verb PhraseC Adjective Phrase or

Noun PhraseA Adverb Phrase or

Prepositional Phrase orNoun Phrase

Analysing some simple sentences using SPOCA analysis(i) Work out what kind of phrase each constituent is (NP, VP, AdjP, AdvP, PP) (ii) Show the SPOCA structures of the sentences they occur in.

1. John ¦ loves ¦ Mary 2. Mary ¦ loves ¦ John 3. John ¦ was ¦ very annoyed 4. The hungry student ¦ hates ¦ overcooked cabbage5. The telephone ¦ rang6. The cheerful woman ¦ was kissing ¦ her radiant husband ¦ with great abandon7. Mary ¦ lifted ¦ the receiver ¦ angrily ¦ within two seconds

1. John ¦ loves ¦ Mary Phrase: NP VP NP SPOCA strucure: SPO

2. Mary ¦ loves ¦ John Phrase: NP VP NP SPOCA strucure: SPO

3. John ¦ was ¦ very annoyed. Phrase: NP VP AdjP SPOCA strucure: SPC

4. The hungry student ¦ hates ¦ overcooked cabbage Phrase: NP VP NP SPOCA strucure: SPO

5. The telephone ¦ rang. Phrase: NP VP SPOCA strucure: SP

6. The cheerful woman ¦ was kissing ¦ her radiant husband ¦ with great abandon. Phrase: NP VP NP PP SPOCA strucure: SPOA

7. Mary ¦ lifted ¦ the receiver ¦ angrily ¦ within two seconds. Phrase: NP VP NP AdvP PP SPOCA strucure: SPOAA

Word Classes and Phrases

So far we have distinguished four major word classes: NOUN (N), VERB (V), ADJECTIVE (Adj) and ADVERB (Adv).

We can use these word classes to define four of the five kinds of phrases which occur in English sentences:

(1) NOUN PHRASE (NP)

A phrase (a group of words) which has a NOUN as its head:a student; the charming student; that grotty little first year English student; that grotty little English student with green hair; a pint of Boddingtons

(2) VERB PHRASE (VP)

A phrase which has a VERB as its head:guzzle; has guzzled; has been guzzling; is; might have been; yawned; had been yawning

(3) ADJECTIVAL PHRASE (AdjP)

A phrase with an ADJECTIVE as its head:despicable; absolutely despicable; as despicable as possible

(4) ADVERBIAL PHRASE (AdvP)

A phrase with an ADVERB as its head:quickly; too quickly; too quickly for comfort

In addition, we need one more phrase type:

(5) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP)

A phrase which consists of a preposition with a Noun Phrase joined to it:up the road; down his throat; round the grotty student's ear

The Internet Grammar of English (www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm) has an explanation of phrase structure that you may find useful, as well as exercises for practising analysis

A. Noun Phrase (NP)Slippers are the new stilettos.Power made him crazy.Stephen found mould behind the bath.

Premodifiers in NP a. determiners (articles, demonstratives, possessives)

These slippers are the new stilettos.His power made him crazy.Stephen found the mould behind the bath.

b. quantifiers and enumerators

c. adjectives

Postmodifiers in NP

a. prepositional phrase

The dictionary in the book cupboard.The cakes for those tree readers.

The dictionary in the book cupboard is huge.The cakes for those tree readers are nearly ready.

You should consult the dictionary in the book cupboard.Don’t eat the cakes for those tree readers.

b. relative clause

The trifle that Susan made for the party.The thief who stole my car.The ground where Australia lost the Ashes.

The trifle that Susan made for the party was delicious.The thief who stole my car has been caught by the police.The ground where Australia lost the Ashes will be remembered.

To summarise, the noun phrase in English is made up of three functional elements, of which only the head is compulsory: Premodification, head, postmodification.

Find the noun phrases in the sentences below:

1. The People's Palace is in the Queen's Building. 2. The teacher told the students to be quiet.3. The James Mason Lecture Theatre is in the Francis Bancroft building.

4. The Cultural and Social Anthropology Department deal with the many aspects of the social lives of people around the world.

5. The English for Academic Purposes Modules run by the highly qualified teachers in the language and learning unit, are available to all students of Queen Mary University of London.

6. Science and Engineering degrees are run by the school of Science and Engineering.

"This is the house that Jack built..."by Mother Goose

This is the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,That killed the rat,That ate the maltThat lay in the house that Jack built.

B. Verb Phrase (NP)

It fulfils the role of predicator in the clause and effectively introduces a process (action, eventand so on).

The party started about 9 o’clock.My brother always sings in the bath.You bring us bad luck!She has broken the glass.I had cooked the dinner.This book is the best I have ever read.The boy was playing football.

C. Adjective phrase

The majority of adjective phrases in

English are very simple; usually an adjective on its own, or premodified by an intensifying adverb:

She is pretty.Your house is incredibly untidy.

(She is) sad about her friend’s illness (prepositional).(They are) likely to come to the party (clausal).

D. Adverb phraseThe adverb phrase is the simplest of all English phrases, being made up of only an adverb and any premodifying intensifiers that are also part of the adverb class:

. . . very closely.

. . . right slowly.

. . . amazingly subtly.

E. Prepositional phraseIt is made up of a preposition and a noun phrase

In a moment or two the cortege will emerge from the Abbey . . .Those children with the expensive trainers . . .

For more notes on phrases, check out the following links:http://www.grammatics.com/iel/unit6_basic%20grammar.htmhttp://aeo.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/Files/NounPhrases/Noun%20Phrases.html

Each of the following sentences, adapted from Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips can be divided into components such as S, P, C, O and A. Your task is to identify the major divisions. Do not attempt to divide up components which you find inside the major components.

1. Sherlock Holmes was wrong.

Sherlock Holmes ¦ was ¦ wrong

SPC

2. The man who entered was young.

The man who entered ¦ was ¦ young

SPC

3. I have brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug chamber.

I ¦ have brought ¦ some traces of the storm and rain ¦ into your snug chamber.

SPOA

4. He rummaged in his coat pocket.

He ¦ rummaged ¦ in his coat pocket

SPA

5. The vessel in which the man or men are is a sailing ship.

The vessel in which the man or men are ¦ is ¦ a sailing ship

SPC

6. Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee.

Holmes ¦ turned over ¦ the leaves of the book upon his knee.

SPO

7. You must put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass box which you have described.

You ¦ must put ¦ this piece of paper which you have shown us ¦ into the brass box which you have described

SPOA

8. His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was in fear of something or someone.

His extreme love of solitude in England ¦ suggests ¦ the idea that he was in fear of something or someone

SPO

9. My eye rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart.

My eye ¦ rested ¦ upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart

SPA

10. That is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the Lone Star.

That ¦ is ¦ all which we shall ever know of the fate of the Lone Star

SPC

What phrases will we find in each of the sentence elements?S Noun PhraseO Noun PhraseP Verb PhraseC Adjective Phrase or

Noun PhraseA Adverb Phrase or

Prepositional Phrase orNoun Phrase

MORE PRACTICE

Q1. What is the Subject of the sentence 'The man with the green skin comes from Mars'?

Answer: the man with the green skin

Q2. In 'The man with the green skin comes from Mars', what kind of a phrase is 'from Mars'?

Answer: prepositional phrase

Q3. Which phrase is the Complement in the sentence 'In spite of his green skin the man from Mars seems rather fiery'?

Answer: rather fiery

Q4. What is the SPOCA structure of 'On Tuesday the professor with the bow-tie was sillier than usual'?

Answer: ASPC

Q5. What is the SPOCA structure of 'Mary plonked a wet kiss on the end of Mick's nose'?

Answer: SPOA

RECAP....(i) There are five kinds of phrases in English [noun phrase (NP), verb phrase (VP), adjective phrase (AdjP), adverb phrase (AdvP) and prepositional phrase (PP)], and

(ii) These five kinds of phrases can be combined together to make simple sentences or clauses by filling up the SPOCA [Subject, Predicator, Object, Complement, Adverbial] slots in those sentences or clauses.

Next topic:

THE GRAMMAR OF COMPLEX SENTENCES

This topic will be conducted through SCL.

Please go to: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistics/topic7/begin7.htm

You should know the following by the end of the activity:

1. Simple, compound, and complex sentences

2. Linking, listing and nesting

3. How to identify examples of linking, listing and nesting in texts – this includes applying

SPOCA analysis to the text

4. Effects of linking, listing and nesting

SPEECH PRESENTATION

In the anterior, reported situation Stef talks to Mick.

In the posterior, reported situation Dawn talks to you and tells you what Stef said to Mick. As the posterior situation is current for you it is close, and the anterior one is more remote.

If we thought about the speech presentation in terms of a novel, Dawn would be a first person

narrator, telling you, her narratee, what the character, Stef, said to Mick, the other Character in the

story.

In the 1st-person novel, the narrator effectively reports to the narratee (posterior situation) what he

or she heard one character say to another (anterior situation). So the reporting discourse is that

between narrator and narratee (level 2 above) and the reported situation is that between character A

and character B (level 3 above). In 3rd-person narration, because the narrator is not a character in

the story, and is conventionally assumed to be omniscient, the effect is more like one where we 'look

in' on the characters' conversation, as it unfolds, without the effect of report. The kind of narrator that

a novelist chooses to use thus affects how we view the speech which is presented to us.

FIRST PERSON

Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable.

(The Adventures of HuckleBerry Finn)

THIRD PERSON

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.

(Harry Potter)

Below are four sentences. They all report the same conversation between two characters which a 1st-person narrator in a novel reports to us. Drag the sentences to what you think are the appropriate places on the scale below and then compare them with our ordering. Can you label any of the presentational forms (e.g. direct speech, indirect speech)?

She told him that she had not been there the day before. She spoke severely to himShe pointed out his error. 'I wasn't here yesterday, you idiot,' she said.

THE SCALE  

'Know most detail about what 'she'

said'

'Know least detail about what 'she'

said'

1. 'I wasn't here yesterday, you idiot,' she said

2. She told him that she had not been there the day before.

3. She pointed out his error.

4. She spoke severely to him.

What we have here are just some of the ways in which speech can be reported in real life and

the speech of characters can be presented in novels. Effectively, we have a varying mix of

character and narrator.

Direct Speech (DS) - the reported clause

o it connects to the reported discourse situation, exactly what the character said and

the words and grammatical structures used to say it.

o Main indicator: the quotation marks e.g. 'she said', which is normally called

the reporting clause because it connects to the reporting discourse situation.

'I wasn't here yesterday, you idiot,' she said.

Free Indirect Speech (IS) – between Direct Speech and Indirect Speech.

o We know what was said, but it is difficult to know whether the words used to say it

belong to the character or the narrator.

o This kind of ambiguity is often very helpful for novelists in manipulating viewpoint

relations

She wasn’t there yesterday, the idiot!

Indirect Speech (IS) - we know the propositional content of what the character said from

the reported clause, but the words and structures used to report it belong to the narrator, just

like those of the reporting clause, not the character.

She told him that she had not been there the day before.

Narrator's Representation of Speech Act (NRSA) - the words and structures belong to the

narrator, and the only trace of the character is a summary of what she said, including an

indication of the speech act used by the character.

o Unlike DS and IS, there is no reported clause at all.

She pointed out his error

Narrators's Representation of Voice (NV) - all we know is that the female character said

something to the other character. We don't even know what speech act was used, let alone

what was said or what words were used to say it.

She spoke severely to him

Narrators's Representation of Speech Act (NRA) – no speech presentation involved here.

The narrator just tells us what happens in the fictional world of the story and so everything

we are told comes straightforwardly from the narrator.

She pushed him

For each sentence of the little story below, indicate which speech presentation category you think is involved.

IS = Indirect SpeechFIS = Free Indirect Speech DS = Direct Speech

N = NarrationNV = Narrators's Representation of VoiceNRSA = Narrator's Representation of Speech Act

1. John told Mary, his fiancée the story of his upbringing. NRSA

2. 'I lived in a pig sty until I was seven,' he said. DS

3. He talked with a charming soft grunt. NV

4. Then he rolled on his back on the floor. N

5. Mary told him he ought to get up before her parents came back from the kitchen. IS

6. And he really ought to stop that ridiculous snuffling too! FIS

7. He damn well wasn't going to put up with personal jibes like that, he replied. FIS

8. 'Either you love me for what I am or we're finished'. DS

9. Mary apologised for her unreasonably swinist attitude. NRSA

10. They lived happily ever after in a small bungalow near Damansara Damai. N

The passage below is from a popular romance novel. Lais and Peach are two sisters who are alone on a cruise ship together, travelling from America to France. Peach is five years old. Lais, who is in

her late teens, is meant to be looking after her. But she is more interested in having a good time dancing in the ballroom of the ship, and so is hastily putting Peach to bed in their cabin, before going

back to the ballroom.

Using your Speech Presentation checksheet, for each sentence, or part of a sentence, note down the mode of speech presentation you think is used.

The speech presentation modes you are looking for are DS, FIS, IS, NRSA and NV. (Note that you may find more than one category in some sentences.)

Some sentences do not involve speech presentation at all, and you may find it helpful to label these with 'N' for Narration.

Lais unlocked the cabin door and pushed her inside. ‘Come on then, into bed with you.’ She pulled off Peach’s pretty white dress hurriedly.Peach sat on the edge of her bed sliding off the little red slippers. ‘What about my teeth?’ she asked, thinking of her mother.‘In the morning,’ called Lais, already at the door. ‘But Lais. Where are you going?’ Peach sat up in bed anxiously. She still wore her vest and knickers and her socks. There was no sign of her nightie, or a drink of milk or anything. And where was Teddy?Lais hesitated then hurried back across the room and hauled the teddy bear from beneath a pile of clothes. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Now go to sleep.’

(Elizabeth Adler, Peach)

The speech presentation in the passage is almost all in DS. This makes the presentation of the

speech seem simple and straightforward, and helps to bring out the perfunctory way in which Lais is

'looking after' her younger sister (which is also seen in what she does, or rather does not do - she

does not let Peach brush her teeth, does not give her a drink and does not find her nightie for her).

The one exception to the DS 'rule' in the passage is the use of FIS for Peach's

question about the whereabouts of her teddy, something which is clearly

important for her.

‘But Lais. Where are you going?’ Peach sat up in bed anxiously. She still wore her vest and knickers and her socks. There was no sign of her nightie, or a drink of milk or anything. And where was Teddy?

The distancing effect produced by the FIS form is presumably to help us see that Lais is not much

interested in the question. But this 'local' strategy seems strangely at odds with the fact that

elsewhere in the passage we are allowed to see inside the mind of the Peach, the five-year old.

Indeed, until we read Lais's response at the end of the extract, we could be forgiven for thinking that

'And where was Teddy?' is a question that Peach asks silently to herself, rather than something

which she says out loud. This speech/thought ambiguity does not seem to be for any useful purpose

in the passage either. So, it looks as if this writer might not be quite in control of the discourse

presentational forms she is using.

More analysis at: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistics/topic9/11lolita.htm

Under narrator’s control

Under character’s control

Narrator’s report of voice (NV)He spoke to her.

Narrator’s report of speech acts (NRSA)He asked her about her future plans.

Indirect speech (IS)He asked her what she was planning to do the following year.

Free Indirect Speech (FIS)He finally came to the point. What was she going to do next year?

Direct speech (DS)HE asked: “So … what are you going to do next year?”

Free Direct Speech (FDS)“So… what are you going to do next year>”

THOUGHT PRESENTATION

Kinds of Thought Presentation

Besides using narrators to present what their characters say, novelists can also use them to present

what their characters think. The presentation of thought involves the same basic categories of

presentation as the presentation of speech does, but the effects of these categories are sometimes

rather different. This is essentially because, in real life, although when we present or report the

speech of others we have normally heard the speech we report, we know that this can't possibly be

the case for thought. Indeed, even when we present our own thoughts, there is an issue, because it

is not at all clear how much verbalisation thought involves.

In 1st-person narrations we would normally expect the narrator only to present his or her own

thoughts in the story about his or her past. Logically, 1st-person narrators can only have direct

access to their own thoughts.

In 3rd-person narrations, on the other hand, where the convention is that the narrator is omniscient,

it is common to get the thoughts of more than one character portrayed in the same story, perhaps at

different points in the story. 

[He wondered/thought/remembered …. (NRT) – ‘reporting’ clause and similar phenomena]

1. He wondered, “Does she still love me?” (Direct Thought - DT)2. Did she still love him? (Free Indirect Thought - FIT)3. He wondered if she still loved him. (Indirect Thought - IT)4. He wondered about her love (Narrator’s Representation of Thought Act - NRTA)5. He thought for a long time. (Narrator’s Presentation of Thinking - NT)6. He felt utterly bereft. (Narration of Internal States - NI)

Speech presentation

Direct speech (DS)

Free indirect speech (FIS)

Indirect speech (IS)

Narrators representation of speech act (NRSA)

Narrators representation of voice (NV)

Thought presentation

Direct thought (DT)

Free indirect thought (FIT)

Indirect thought (IT)

Narrators representation of thought act (NRTA)

Narrators representation of thought (NT)

Below are five instances of thought presentation. Place the sentences in what you think are the appropriate places on the scale below:

‘What will I do for the rest of my bloody life?’ she asked herselfShe asked herself what she would do for the rest of her life.She thought for a long timeShe carefully considered her futureWhat would she do for the rest of her bloody life?

THE SCALE  

'Know most detail about what 'she'

thought'

'Know least detail about what 'she'

thought'

1. ‘What will I do for the rest of my bloody life?’ she asked herself (DT).

2. What would she do for the rest of her bloody life? (FIT)

3. She asked herself what she would do for the rest of her life. (IT)

4. She carefully considered her future. (NRTA)

5. She thought for a long time. (NT)

1. ‘What will I do for the rest of my bloody life?’ she asked herself (DT)

'This is an example of the apparently rather conscious, soliloquy-like, kind of thought. It seems deliberate and coherent.

2. She asked herself what she would do for the rest of her life. (IT)

We are given the propositional content of the thought, but through the narrator's words and structures, not the characters. So we are given the information in a distanced, filtered, way. IT tends to have an even greater distancing effect than IS.

3. She thought for a long time. (NT)

This kind of presentation of thought is at the extreme 'narrator end' of the thought presentation scale. All we know is that the character thought something, but nothing else. And so although we know she was thinking, we are distanced maximally from those thoughts. We don't know the topic of her thoughts, or what she thought about that topic, let alone what form those thoughts took.

4. She carefully considered her future. (NRTA)

If we compare this example with the NT and IT examples, we can see that in terms of effect it falls between the two. We are distanced more than for IT but less than for NT. We know the kind of thinking involved and the topic of those thoughts, but no more.

5. She was very angry indeed (N)

This is clearly a sentence of narration, but unlike narrator sentences like 'She put her dress on.'

we have a narrator statement about the 'inner reality' of some character - her emotional

response to something - rather than what we might call 'outer reality'.

Narrators, especially 3rd-person narrators, have the ability to make statements about the insides

of character's heads, as well as the rest of the fictional world. So we could call this Internal

Narration (IN).

PRACTICE

 (i) decide which thought presentation category you think the emboldened part of the quotation belongs to and (ii) indicate the kind of effect you think this choice of thought presentation category has in context.

In the first extract, Chandler's famouus detective, Philip Marlowe, is trying to understand the

significance of what he has just been told.

It got darker. I thought; and thought in my mind moved with a kind of sluggish stealthiness, as if it was being watched by bitter and sadistic eyes. I thought of dead eyes looking at a moonless

sky, with black blood at the corners of the mouths beneath them.

(Raymond Chandler , Farewell my Lovely, chapter 34)

In the first emboldened clause 'I thought;' all we know is that thought occurred, and so we have a

classic case of the narrator's representation of thinking (NT). And in the rest of the sentence we

have another example of NT. We know nothing more at all about what was thought, even though

we are given an extended characterisation of the general manner in which Philip Marlowe, the

famous private investigator, is thinking.

She considered her case as she walked down the Charing Cross Road.

(Virginia Woolf , Night and Day, p.272)

This is a clear example of a narrator's representation of a thought act (NRTA). We know what

act of thought occurred and its topic.

In the passage below, the detective Philip Marlowe has just regained consciousness after having

been knocked out by a blow from behind in the dark while talking in a canyon to what he thought

was a companion sitting behind him.

'Four minutes, the voice said. 'Five, possibly six. They must have moved quick and quiet. He didn't even let out a yell.'I opened my eyes and looked fuzzily at a cold star. I was lying on my back. I felt sick.

The voice said: 'It could have been a little longer. Maybe even eight minutes altogether. They must have been in the brush, right where the car stopped. The guy scared easily. They must have thrown a small light in his face and he passed out - just from panic. The pansy.' . . .. . . I balanced myself woozily on the flat of my hands, listening.

'Yeah, that was about how it was,' the voice said.It was my voice. I was talking to myself, coming out of it. I was trying to figure the thing out

subconsciously.

'Shut up, you dimwit,' I said, and stopped talking to myself.

(Raymond Chandler , Farewell my Lovely, chapter 10)

Here, all of the emboldened parts except the last one are Direct Thought (DT).

The quotation marks signal the direct form, and the tense, other deictic signals are all appropriate to

the character in the fictional world, not the narrator, looking back on the events, and telling them to

us at some later time. The 'voice' is clearly Marlowe's 'inner voice', which directly 'addresses' him as

he tries to work out what has happened to him. It is difficult at first to be sure whether Marlowe is

literally talking to himself, or 'hearing himself think', as it were, but when the narrator tells us 'I was

trying to figure the thing out subconsciously.' We know he must have been thinking, not speaking.

At the end of the passage, we presumably get DS, not DT, when he tells himself to shut up, given

what he has just told us about his thought process. But even this could be DT, being part of the

representation of his fractured of working out what has happened to him