What is an absolute construction? I looked it up but I don't know how to explain it in simple words and I'm not sure if I understood. Could you give me a complete and simple explanation and how it is formed?
Thanks!
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
(1) You have asked an excellent question, which -- sadly -- cannot be answered
in a single post.
(2) I most respectfully suggest that you go to the search box at the top of the
page and type in "absolute clause/phrase." You will find many helpful threads.
(3) Here are just three examples from one of my favorite books (
Descriptive English
Grammar by Professors House and Harman):
The dance being over, we left,.
The teacher being absent, we had no school yesterday.
Weather permitting, we shall go tomorrow.
(a) The absolute constructions are in bold.
(b) As you can see, we usually do not speak like this. The absolute construction
is usually used for writing because it is more elegant and it saves a lot of words.
(i) Here is how you would say those three sentences in regular English:
(a) When the dance was over, we left.
(b) Because the teacher was absent, we had no school yesterday.
(c) If the weather permits, we shall go tomorrow.