You are dead on as usual. I see now that calling them absolutes is a much more logical analysis. The possibly understood "with" is great! Thanks, Craig. John On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 9:23 AM, Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > John, > I would classify them as "absolutes", which I would define as subject > bearing participle clauses. (Traditional grammar calls them phrases.) > My own preference would be for "he" and "I" in the subject roles, but > these are also commonly introduced by "with", which could be thought of > as understood here. "I slipped my backpack off, and we sat down at one > of the metal tables overlooking the pool, with him sipping his Mountain > Dew and me groping for pen and paper." Maybe the writer drafted it with > "with" and then took it out, leaving the objective pronouns. > Hope that helps. > > Craig > > > > > What are the structures appended to the end of the main clause below? > > They > > feel like participles, but they have pseudo-subjects. Is it correct to > > use > > the objective pronouns in these structures? > > > > *I slipped my backpack off, and we sat down at one of the metal tables > > overlooking the pool, him sipping his Mountain Dew and me groping for a > > pen > > and paper. > > > > *I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! > > > > Thanks, > > John > > > > 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/ > 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/