I am sixth grade language arts teacher, and well, would love to use this listserv as an aid to the grammatical questions that I come across from time to time. Actually, my question actually stems from the current discussion on the "nominative absolute." I hate to admit this, but I need this explained in more elementary terms. Basically, how could I explain this sentence to a sixth grader? If I had to analyze it on my own, I would probably say there is a very simple independent clause and some sort of dependent clause, although lacking a subordinate conjunction. You asked. Here I am. Thanks, Sharon > > --- Reinhold Schlieper <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 15:42:48 -0500 > > Reply-to: Assembly for the Teaching of English > > Grammar <[log in to unmask]> > > From: Reinhold Schlieper > > <[log in to unmask]> > > Organization: Embry-Riddle University > > Subject: Re: My dog moaned, its tail stuck... > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > > Ablativus absolutus, if you're more > Latin-oriented. > > > > ==Reinhold > > > > "Richard Veit, UNCW English Department" wrote: > > > > > > At 02:22 AM 12/04/2000 -0500, Ed Vavra wrote: > > > > > > > Question: Is the following sentence an example > > of a comma-splice, or > > > > an > > > > example of a well-written sentence? > > > > > > > > My dog moaned, its tail stuck between its back > > legs. > > > > > > That's a pretty standard example of a > "nominative > > absolute." That's > > > the term I learned in grade school in the > fifties > > and find indexed in > > > Roberts' 1954 Understanding Grammar. The term > > "absolute" is used in > > > several more recent grammar texts, but neither > > term is indexed in > > > Greenbaum's Oxford English Grammar. Curious > minds > > wanting to know, is > > > there other terminology for such constructions? > > > > > > Dick Veit > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit > > the list's web interface at: > > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > > and select "Join or leave the list" > > > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of > Products. > http://shopping.yahoo.com/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/