Bruce,
Your last example is a real tour de force of sentence creation. I love
it. And it's matched by your simile. I wish I'd thought of that one
when I was grading student papers.
Herb
Herb,
You are solid and correct as always. My thinking had not really gelled.
Notice how a number of nouns can be connected adverbially as adjuncts in
the
following (based on a root sentence from Lakoff):
When President as a candidate, juridically, Nixon was a gangster, hence
the
move to impeach by congress while in session.
There is a certain verbless sentence that we have talked about before,
but
it is probably a little unstable and incapable of having additions made
to
it easily. I think it is the intonation of the "pithy remark" that
precludes such adjunctive modifications.
A gangster, Nixon.
This remark is a bit awkward as "Juridically, a gangster, Nixon," and
its
pithy status makes it difficult if not impossible to expand to:
??When president as a candidate, juridically, a gangster, Nixon, hence
the
move to impeach by congress while in session.
It seems so like an unstable molecule ready to fall apart from its own
weight.
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
From: "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: What Is This?
I'm not sure there is a clearly demonstrable definition of nominative
absolute, but the definitions I've checked in several on line manuals
and
discussions all require a subject and a predicate but without a BE verb.
The following would be typical examples:
The window shattered by hail, the carpet was soaked during the storm.
The dog snarling fiercely behind the door, the unexpected visitors left
without even knocking.
All fifteen pool balls in the pockets in numerical order, the game was
declared over.
I haven't found a definition that would allow a "hence + NP" expression
as a
nominative absolute. I favor the suggestion that "hence" is a
conjunctive
adverb followed by an elliptical clause, in the sentence in question an
NP.
Herb
Part of the dynamic has to do with who is using which version, hence my
attempt to focus on
"mainstream" institutions (emphasis added).
The infinitive phrase including its preceding substantive, in my
opinion, functions as an absolute construction and as such modifies the
whole sentence. I would parse hence as a conjunctive adverb and attempt
as a nominative absolute provided to give the infinitive something to
modify. Sorry for the confusion.
Best,
Clint
Clinton Atchley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Box 7652
1100 Henderson Street
Henderson State University
Arkadelphia, AR 71999
Phone: 870.230.5276
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.hsu.edu/atchlec
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nancy Tuten
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 6:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: What Is This?
Clint, did you mean to say that the prepositional phrase is a sentence
modifier or just the infinitive phrase?
Nancy L. Tuten, PhD
Professor of English
Director of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Program
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
803-786-3706
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Atchley, Clinton
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 10:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: What Is This?
I'd say that the infinitive is being used absolutely as a sentence
modifier. The preceding substantive attempt functions as a nominative
absolute. Hence is a conjunctive or transitional adverb. Just my two
cents.
Best,
Clint
Clinton Atchley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Box 7652
1100 Henderson Street
Henderson State University
Arkadelphia, AR 71999
Phone: 870.230.5276
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.hsu.edu/atchlec
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nancy Tuten
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 8:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: What Is This?
I'll venture a guess: a prepositional phrase, with "hence" serving as
the preposition, "attempt" as the object, and "to focus on mainstream
institutions" as an adjectival infinitive phrase modifying "attempt."
But how does the prepositional phrase (if that's what it is) function?
Is it adverbial, modifying the verb "has" in the main clause?
I'm going to print out our discussion and share it with my advanced
grammar class-all English majors, some of whom have already discovered
the joy of such discussions-the next generation of ATEGers.
Nancy
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Crow
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 4:09 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: What Is This?
In a very well-supported response to Nancy's inquiry about Master's
Degree, Bill wrote the following sentence:
Part of the dynamic has to do with who is using which version, hence my
attempt to focus on
"mainstream" institutions (emphasis added).
I find the sentence perfectly well formed, but I cannot figure out what
the underlined part is. Any ideas?
John
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