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Style, meaning and the structure of sentences
Task D: Learning about the functions of words and phrases in sentences:
Introducing Dr SPOCA!
Simple sentences and clauses in English are made up of five functional
elements, Subjects (S), Predicators (P), Objects (O), Complements (C)
and Adverbials (A). Although these five elements do not turn up in every
sentence (we will begin to see why below), they have a strong tendency
to occur in the above order. To help you remember the ordering, we would
like to introduce you to a character based loosely (well, very loosely)
on a famous character in the first Star Trek series:
The SPOCA elements are functional constituents of sentences. In the simple
cases, they each consist of a phrase, but those phrases 'do different
jobs' (i.e. have different functions) in sentences and clauses. Below
we give you a summary of the five SPOCA elements, the kinds of phrases
which they consist of and the functions that they have in simple sentences
and clauses. Click on each item in turn to build up the picture (we introduce
them in a slightly different order from SPOCA for ease of understanding):
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SPOCA Element
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Predicators
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consist of
verb phrases (e.g. 'ate', 'had been eating', 'is', 'was being')
which can be used to express tense and aspect)
function as
the centre of English sentences and clauses, around which everything
else revolves
they express actions (e.g. 'hit'), processes (e.g. 'changed',
'decided') and linking relations (e.g. 'is', 'seemed')
they are the most obligatory of English sentence constituents
Note that we use the term 'predicator' to be able to distinguish
the form-property (VP: verb/verb phrase) from its function in
the sentence so that this difference can parallel those for the
other SPOCA elements (see below)
Examples Mary loves
John (transitive predicator), John had been
running (intransitive predicator), John seems
quiet (linking predicator)
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Subjects
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consist of
noun phrases (NPs) (e.g. 'a student', 'John')
function as
the topic of the sentence, and the 'doer' of any action expressed
by a dynamic predicator and normally come before that predicator
subjects are the next most obligatory element after predicators
Examples Mary loves John, The
exhausted student had been running, John
seems quiet
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Objects
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consist of
function as
the 'receiver' of any action expressed by a dynamic predicator,
where relevant and normally come immediately after that
predicator
objects are obligatory with transitive
predicators (but do not occur with intransitive
or linking
predicators)
Examples Mary loves John, The exhausted
student had eaten all his food, Mary has
the biggest ice cream
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Complements
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consist of
noun phrases (e.g. 'a student') or adjective phrases (e.g. 'very
happy') and normally come immediately after a linking predicator
(when they are subject
complements) or an object (if they are object
complements)
complements are obligatory with linking predicators
function as
the specification of some attribute or role of the subject (usually)
or the object (sometimes) of the sentence
Examples John is a student, The exhausted
student is ill, Mary made her mother very
angry
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Adverbials
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consist of
adverb phrases (AdvPs: e.g. 'soon', 'then' 'very quickly', prepositional
phrases (PPs: e.g. 'up the road', 'in a minute' or noun phrases
(e.g. 'last Tuesday', 'the day before last')
function as
the specification of a condition related to the predicator (e.g.
when, where or how the predicator process occurred)
adverbs are the most optional of the SPOCA elements and can normally
occur in more positions than the other SPOCA elements, though
the most normal position for most adverbials is at the ends of
clauses
Examples Then John walked up
the road, The exhausted student became ill last
Thursday, Next Mary
stupidly made her mother very angry on her wedding
anniversary
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Note: You can find more detail about the SPOCA elements if you want in
the SPOCA checksheet.
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