Topic 4 (session A) - The grammar of simple sentences > Style, meaning & the structure of sentences > Task F

Style, meaning and the structure of sentences

Task F: Deviant SPOCA orderings and foregrounding

Now let us return to the extracts from 'Esther's Tomcat' by Ted Hughes, which we looked at in Task A.

Do a SPOCA analysis of each of the emboldened sentences below to reveal their grammatical oddity, and compare your answer with ours by clicking on the relevant sentence.

1. [Daylong this tomcat . . . sleeps till blue dusk.] Then reappear his eyes.

APS [for the effect of the structure, see our comments on the sentence in Task A]

2. Over the roofs go his eyes and outcry.

APS [for the effect of the structure, see our comments on the sentence in Task A]

3. The tomcat still grallochs the odd dog on the quiet, will take the head clean off your simple pullet. Is unkillable.

PC [for the effect of the structure, see our comments on the sentence in Task A]

Reading

To learn in more detail about SPOCA analysis, read the SPOCA checksheet which is part of this session and then read chapter 5 ('Clauses': pp. 75-92) of

Leech, Geoffrey, Margaret Deuchar and Robert Hoogenraad (1982) English Grammar for Today, London: Macmillan

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