This section reviews a set of cases of different languages whose copula is grammaticalized to a thematic structure articulator.

A copula is a word which combines with a syntagma and converts it into the predicate of its clause.

A thematic structure articulator is a grammatical formative which subdivides a clause into components of thematic structure. It may combine with any of the relevant components and thus be, more specifically, a topic marker or a focus marker.

In some cases, the development of a thematic structure articulator from a copula is historically documented, and then the exact structure of the source construction may be clear. This is the case in Chinese and Portuguese. When such data are missing, the dynamicization of synchronic variation must remain tentative. This is the case of Cabecar.