I think I've heard absolutes in oral narrative at folk art festivals or heritage festivals such as--near us here in Daytona Beach--Pioneer Days. So, in more formal speaking or in speech designed to create suspense, one might find absolutes, I'd suspect. ==Reinhold Martha Kolln wrote: > > I'd like to add a few more details to the recent discussion of absolute > phrases. > First, absolutes are one of the few grammatical structures that are used > exclusively in writing, rather than speaking. (There are others: The > opening participial phrase, for example, is rarely used in speech.) So I > think that Fr. Laurence's observation that students who use absolutes are > the good readers certainly makes sense. > > Absolutes are essentially noun phrases consisting of a noun headword with a > postnoun modifier (which can also be compounded). That modifier, while > commonly a partiple or participial phrase, can take other forms: adjective > phrase, prepositional phrase, noun phrase. > > Here are some examples: > > Participle: Julie tried to fit the key into the rusty lock, her hands > trembling. > > Adjective phrase: The old hound stood guard faithfully, his ears alert to > every passing footstep. > > Prepositional phrase: Hands above his head, the suspect advanced > cautiously toward the uniformed offices. > > Noun phrase: Her hair a dripping mess, she dashed in out of the rain. > > The absolute phrase introduces an idea related to the sentence as a whole, > not to any one of its parts; hence, it is considered a sentence modifier. > > Absolutes are of two kinds, with different purposes and different effects. > The preceding examples add a detail or point of focus to the idea stated in > the main clause. They move the reader in for a close-up view, just as a > filmmaker uses the camera. > > In all of these examples, you'll notice that only a finite form of BE (is > or was or were) stands between the absolute and a complete sentence. In > the deep structure, the postnoun modifier would be either the main verb (in > the case of the participle as modifier) or a subject complement. > > The second kind of absolute, one that has commonly been cited in > traditional grammar books (and,in my estimate, sounds quite stilted and > formal), explains a cause or condition: > > Our car having developed engine trouble, we stopped for the night at a > roadside rest area. > > The weather being warm and clear, we decided to have a picnic. > > In May of 1950, Francis Christensen published an article on the absolute > phrase in both College English and The English Journal. It was included in > his book NOTES TOWARD A NEW RHETORIC: SIX ESSAYS FOR TEACHERS, published in > 1967 by Harper and Row. > > I recommend that every teacher of writing read Christensen's article. If > you find the book in your library (I'm assuming it's out of print), you'll > also find, in addition to the Absolute article, a wonderful discussion of > restrictive/nonrestrictive modifiers (first published in College English in > October 1957) in a chapter called Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Modifiers > Again. > > I believe that high school writers will profit from learning about the > absolute, and they will certainly see examples of it in the literature > they're reading. I suspect they'll feel powerful, knowing how to use > absolutes and understanding their effect in their own descriptive prose. > > This is what grammar teaching is all about! > > Martha Kolln > > 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/ 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/