Author Topic: The subtle job that absolute phrases do  (Read 2641 times)

Joe Carillo

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The subtle job that absolute phrases do
« on: February 22, 2018, 12:27:20 AM »
Why should we bother using absolute phrases at all?

To answer this question, we made a quick review last week of the five most common types of subordinate phrases, then focused on a sixth type that differs from all of them in one major aspect—it doesn’t modify a specific noun or verb in the main clause but typically modifies the whole main clause instead. This is the nominative absolute or absolute phrase, which some grammarians also call the absolute clause.


We saw that an absolute phrase usually consists of a noun or pronoun followed by a participle and a related modifier, as in “The orchards having been destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” The frontline subordinate phrase has “orchards” as subject noun, “having been destroyed” the participle, and “by the wildfire” the modifier. Unlike the typical subordinate phrase, this phrase modifies neither the noun “honeybees” nor the verb “died” in the main clause. Instead, it modifies the whole main clause, “the honeybees simply died,” to give context to that idea.

We also saw that absolute phrases take a more concise form by shedding off the form of “be” in the participle, as in “Their pollen sources (having been) destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” And, in some cases, the absolute clause drops even the participle itself and just implies its presence: “Their pollen sources (being) no longer there, the honeybees simply died.”

Now, this question comes to mind: In the sentence constructions above, why not just use the usual subordinating phrases to modify the main clause? “Because the orchards have been destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” “Since their pollen sources have been destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” “Due to the fact that their pollen sources are no longer there, the honeybees simply died.” After all, these constructions make the grammatical and logical connection between the main clause and the subordinate phrase clearer, direct, and more emphatic.

When constructing sentences, however, there are situations in which our statements could sound forced, strained, overstated, or simplistic when they categorically state the logical or temporal relationship between the main idea and a subordinate idea. Indeed, this problem can arise when adverbial phrases are introduced by such subordinators as “because,” “since,” and “due to the fact,” as in the three examples given above. The statements can become too didactic and excessively forceful, making us sound like lawyers trying to argue a moot point in court or like a child articulating a newfound idea in minute detail.


In contrast, when those adverbial phrases are turned into absolute phrases, the temporal or logical relationship between the main idea and the subordinate idea becomes implicit, more subtle: “The orchards having been destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” “Their pollen sources destroyed by the wildfire, the honeybees simply died.” “Their pollen sources no longer there, the honeybees simply died.” Not overtly showing the cause-and-effect link between two ideas results in more concise, more elegantly phrased, and better-sounding sentences.

Another important use of the absolute phrase is to describe a detail of a larger situation or scene that has been set forth by a main clause, as in these constructions: “His knees shaking from his upset loss, the tennis champion managed to smile nevertheless.” “Inexperience written all over her face, the new bank teller asked the client several impertinent questions.” “The sea so calm that night, they set sail for Guimaras Island.” No direct cause-and-effect relationship between the main clause and the subordinate clause is shown; instead, the circumstance or qualifying idea is provided simply to give context to the situation.

In sum, absolute phrases are subtler and smoother combiners of ideas than the other types of modifying phrases.

This essay, 1080th in the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the February 22, 2018 issue (print edition only) of The Manila Times, © 2018 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.



(Next week: The four forms that absolute phrases take)     March 1, 2018
« Last Edit: February 23, 2018, 12:47:48 PM by Joe Carillo »