An absolute construction is a subclause that modifies the main clause thematically, not grammatically. It can be the first or last part of a sentence and tends to contain a name, modifier, and particle. Verbs can be included but are not required. Breaking an absolute construction into two sentences is done by including a ‘to be’ verb in the subclause. Such constructions are a literary device found in both speech and writing.
An absolute construction is a subclause in a sentence that modifies the entire meaning of the main clause. This is a type of grammar that comes from Latin. The absolute construction can form the first or last part of a sentence. Such clauses are not grammatically linked to the main clause, but are linked thematically. Another term for this linguistic phenomenon is “nominative absolute”.
Examples of absolute constructs include “in all honesty, I can’t remember last night” and “her hair flying in the wind, Lucy cycled down the hill”. With both sentences, the first clause is the absolute construction and the second clause is the main one. The main clauses contain the essential information of the sentence. Subclauses, although placed at the beginning of the sentence, add more information, but do not interact grammatically with the main clause.
Every absolute construction tends to contain a name, a modifier and a particle. The number of both can vary, but such sub-clauses tend to be simple. Verbs can be placed in an absolute construction, but are not required. The two clauses, such as “the game is over, the boys cycled home”, are always connected by a comma. In the literature, absolute constructions are often difficult to use.
Such clauses are called ‘absolute’ because the clause modifies the verb and subject of the main clause. A non-absolute construction will only modify the subject and is called a leaning participle. The subject of a sentence is the person performing the action. In the examples above, the subjects are Lucy, the boys and the person using the personal pronoun ‘I’.
Including verbs often breaks an absolute construction into two sentences. This is most often done by including a ‘to be’ verb in the subclause. This can turn “Expecting his boss to be nice, Dave tried to look innocent” into “Dave expected his boss to be nice. He tried to look innocent.” Both sentences convey exactly the same information, but in different grammatical styles. The most important difference, apart from the inclusion of “was”, is the change of subject noun and personal pronoun.
Breaking absolute constructions into two sentences occurs more often in speech than in writings. This suggests that such constructions are a literary device rather than something found in natural language. There are many cases, however, of including absolute constructions in spoken English. These include phrases starting with “all things considered” and “depending on the weather”.
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