What is the difference between '' absolute phrase'', ''absolute construction'', ''abs

[duiter]

Hi all,


What is the difference between '' absolute phrase'', ''absolute construction'', ''absolute clause'' ?

Is it common to use these forms in informal conversation ?

Many thanks

 

[TheParser]

Hi all,


What is the difference between '' absolute phrase'', ''absolute construction'', ''absolute clause'' ?

Is it common to use these forms in informal conversation ?

Many thanks

:!::!::!: NOT A TEACHER :!::!::!:


Duiter,


You have asked a HUGE (super big) question that needs

hours and hours of teaching.

(1) Let me answer your last question. Usually, if you use some

absolute constructions in speech, your friends will

laugh and think you are crazy or strange!!!

(2) The term "absolute construction" covers many kinds of

sentences. It is impossible to explain all of them in one post.

(3) I have bad news: different books use different terms.

But I think that it is accurate to tell you these terms mean

the same thing: absolute phrase, absolute clause, nominative

absolute. It does not matter what you call it so long as you

understand it.

(4) My favorite book uses "absolute phrase," so that's what I will call

them. (Remember: absolute phrases are one kind of absolute

construction.)

*****

(a) An absolute phrase modifies the whole sentence. That is, it refers

to the whole sentence.

(b) One popular kind uses a noun + participle:

The teacher (noun) + being (participle) + ill, we went home.

That is a short, elegant way to say:

Because the teacher was ill, we went home.

As you can see, you would almost never use that kind of absolute

phrase in conversation. Your friends would laugh at you. But it is

great for writing. (In some languages, the difference between speaking

it and writing it is HUGE. In English, speaking and writing are usually

about the same, but absolute phrases remind us that sometimes there

are sentences that you use only in writing.)

(c) Another kind of absolute phrase is noun + adjective:

She begins to scream, her face (noun) + white (adjective) + with terror.

As you can see, this is a short, elegant way to write (NOT say!!)

something like:

Her face is white with terror when she begins to scream.

I am sure that you must have many more questions about

absolute constructions. I respectfully suggest that you

study it in a good book and then post questions here about

something that you did not understand in your book. Don't

forget that the World Wide Web also has lots of results.

THANK YOU

 

[duiter]

Thanks a lot for The Parser,

''being'' in absolute phrase can be deleted /omitted according

When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having been, the participle is often left out but understood


The Garden of Phrases

In what condition is '' being/ having been '' deleted ?
Can I delete '' being/ having been'' randomly ?

Can absolute phrase the teacher being ill be followed by the word ''because'' or ''since'' or ''as'' ?

the teacher being ill because he ate unhygienic diet, we went home

Many thanks

 

[TheParser]

Thanks a lot for The Parser,

''being'' in absolute phrase can be deleted /omitted according

When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having been, the participle is often left out but understood


The Garden of Phrases

In what condition is '' being/ having been '' deleted ?
Can I delete '' being/ having been'' randomly ?

Can absolute phrase the teacher being ill be followed by the word ''because'' or ''since'' or ''as'' ?

the teacher being ill because he ate unhygienic diet, we went home

Many thanks

You asked two excellent questions.

Hopefully, a teacher will answer you.

As a non-teacher, I am not permitted to answer until I have

done some research in order to give an accurate answer.

You and I are hoping that a teacher, moderator, or the editor

answers first.

THANK YOU

 

[TheParser]

Thanks a lot for The Parser,

''being'' in absolute phrase can be deleted /omitted according

When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having been, the participle is often left out but understood


The Garden of Phrases

In what condition is '' being/ having been '' deleted ?
Can I delete '' being/ having been'' randomly ?

Can absolute phrase the teacher being ill be followed by the word ''because'' or ''since'' or ''as'' ?

the teacher being ill because he ate unhygienic diet, we went home

Many thanks

:!::!::!: NOT A TEACHER :!::!::!:


Duiter,


Sadly, as I type this, no teacher has yet replied, so let me

share something with you.

(1) When can you delete being/having been?

(a) randomly? No.

(b) Mr. Walter Kay Smart in his English Review Grammar says:

Occasionally the participle is omitted in the absolute phrase, when it can be EASILY SUPPLIED BY THE READER.[My capital letters]

Since you are a learner, it might be a good idea NOT to delete the

"being" because you do not know enough English to decide whether or

not your reader can easily supply the missing words.

Professor Curme in his two-volume A History of the English Language

writes that in earlier English, it was common to delete the verb:

Thou [You] away, the very birds are mute. (Shakespeare)

The meal over, prayers were read by Miss Miller. (Charlotte Bronte,

English novelist)

These obstacles removed and the right time come for action,

we proceeded with energy. Today:

These obstacles having been removed and the right time having

come, ...

*****

You want to know whether it is good English to write (remember:

do not speak like this!!!):

The teacher being ill because he ate tainted food, we students

went home.

Answer: I do not know.

I could not find the answer in my books.

We non-teachers are not allowed to make guesses because when

a learner asks a question, this website wants that learner to receive

only a correct answer.

My respectful suggestion: Post that question in a new thread.

Probably a teacher will answer.

THANK YOU & HAVE A NICE DAY

P. S. I did find this example in The Oxford Companion to the

English Language (I put the absolute phrase in bold letters):

The police located the [bad man] by tapping his parents'

telephone line [listening to people talking on his parents'

telephone line], he having mentioned his hideout when

talking to his father.

 

[TheParser]

Hi all,


What is the difference between '' absolute phrase'', ''absolute construction'', ''absolute clause'' ?

Is it common to use these forms in informal conversation ?

Many thanks

:!::!::!: NOT A TEACHER :!::!::!:


Duiter,


Your question: Is it grammatical to add an adverbial clause (such as

"Because he ate bad food") to a nominative absolute (such as "The

teacher being absent, ...")?

My answer: I still do not have the confidence to answer. (And,

sadly, no teacher has yet responded.)

Nevertheless, I have found more information to share.


*****

One person who, I understand, is an outstanding translator in her

country (English is not her first language) told me that your sentence

("The teacher being absent because he ate bad food, the students

went home" is grammatical. Remember: that is her opinion.

*****

On the Web, I found a wonderful discussion in The New York Review of

Books, a very serious and scholarly American magazine. Professor A.A.

taught me two things that I wish to pass on to you.

(1) A nominative absolute can be very long. Look at this (the absolute

is in bold letters):

Hamlet, having become more and more refractory and, by so

doing, having put not only his life in jeopardy but possibly those of

Horatio, to say nothing of Gertrude, his doting mother who had lost

her husband and recently married her late husband's brother,

Claudio decided to take charge of things and summoned the help of

Guildenstern and Rosencrantz.

Wow!!! The professor says that this absolute is misleading but

it is grammatically correct. (Do not worry if you do not understand that

absolute. I just wanted you to know that absolutes can be very long.)

(2) The professor also taught me that an adverbial clause can be

wedged (put, placed) in an absolute:

My mother, when it was a question of our having M. de Norpois to

dinner for the first time, having expressed her regret that Professor

Cottard was away from home ..., my father ...."

That sentence is a translation of a famous French writer named Marcel

Proust. Although it is grammatically correct, probably very few English

writers would use such a long (and misleading) absolute.

Thank you & have a nice day

 

[BobK]

:up: Many thanks to TP for all the work he has put in. ;-)

Hi all,


What is the difference between '' absolute phrase'', ''absolute construction'', ''absolute clause'' ?

Is it common to use these forms in informal conversation ?

Many thanks

No, it's not at all common. I first met the word 'absolute' in the context of grammar in a Latin lesson.

There is a saying you may have met: 'While the cat's away the mice will play.' It would sound most odd if somebody said 'Absent* the cat, the mice will play.' ;-) (Although, verse and poetry are a fairly common place to find absolute constructions, as they allow the writer to put rhyming words into stressed positions: 'Absent the cat, happy is the rat.' ;-)

So I agree with TP's general advice not to make this a regular part of your English, and also with his specific advice not to drop the -ing word (even when it's optional).

b.
PS *'Absent' is an interesting case, as it accounts for one of the more common uses of an absolute construction - common, that is, in academic and pseudo-academic argument. Here's an example: 'This is what I believe; and, absent any convincing arguments to the contrary, it's what I will continue to believe.'

 

[duiter]

Once again, thanks a lot for The Parser

I do some research on the Internet and I find this

Absolute Phrases II

The restaurant was shut down. Many people were so disappointed

becomes

The restaurant having been shut down, many people were so disappointed.

Why does the author write ''having been'' not ''being''

once again, many thanks for your kindness

NB : Would you, English teacher, mind commenting this matter ?

Many thanks

 

[BobK]

Both 'having been' and 'being' would be possible. The facts are the same: Someone has shut the restaurant, and as a result people can't get in. But the focus is different:

The restaurant having been shut... => at some previous time, somebody did something; what was that? Shutting the restaurant.

The restaurant being shut... => No one can get in.

So both forms are used, depending on context: examples -

The restaurant having been shut several months previously, they had to eat somewhere else.

The rastaurant being shut when they arrived, they had to wait a few minutes.

b