In linguistics, an absolute construction is a
grammatical construction In linguistics, a grammatical construction is any syntactic string of words ranging from sentences over phrasal structures to certain complex lexemes, such as phrasal verbs.
Grammatical constructions form the primary unit of study in construction ...
standing apart from a normal or usual syntactical relation with other words or sentence elements. It can be a
non-finite clause that is
subordinate
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
in form and modifies an entire sentence, an
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Tra ...
or
possessive pronoun
A possessive or ktetic form (Glossing abbreviation, abbreviated or ; from la, possessivus; grc, κτητικός, translit=ktētikós) is a word or grammatical construction used to indicate a relationship of possession (linguistics), possessio ...
standing alone without a modified
substantive, or a
transitive verb
A transitive verb is a verb that accepts one or more objects, for example, 'cleaned' in ''Donald cleaned the window''. This contrasts with intransitive verbs, which do not have objects, for example, 'panicked' in ''Donald panicked''.
Transiti ...
when its object is implied but not stated.
[American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition] The term ''absolute'' derives from Latin , meaning "loosened from" or "separated".
Because the non-finite clause, called the absolute clause (or simply the absolute), is not semantically attached to any single element in the sentence, it is easily confused with a
dangling participle
A dangling modifier (also known as a dangling participle or illogical participle) is a type of ambiguous grammatical construct whereby a grammatical modifier could be misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended. A dan ...
.
The difference is that the
participial phrase
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
of a dangling participle is intended to modify a particular noun, but is instead erroneously attached to a different noun, whereas a participial phrase serving as an absolute clause is not intended to modify any noun at all.
English
The absolute construction, or
nominative absolute In English grammar, a nominative absolute is a free-standing ( absolute) part of a sentence that describes the main subject and verb. It consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case joined with a predicate that does ...
, is not particularly common in modern English and is generally more often seen in writing than in speech, apart from a few fixed expressions such as "weather permitting". Examples include:
*''Weather permitting'', we will have a barbecue tomorrow.
*''All things considered'', it's not a bad idea.
*''This being the case'', let us go.
*''The referee having finally arrived'', the game began.
Latin
Absolute clauses appear in Classical Latin with the modifying present or past participle in the
ablative case; for this reason they are referred to as
ablative absolute
Latin syntax is the part of Latin grammar that covers such matters as word order, the use of cases, tenses and moods, and the construction of simple and compound sentences, also known as ''periods''.
The study of Latin syntax in a systematic way ...
s.
An ablative absolute describes some general circumstance under which the action of a sentence occurs. When translated into English, ablative absolutes are often translated as "with
oun Oun or OUN may refer to
People
* Ahmed Oun (born '1946), Libyan major general
* Ek Yi Oun (1910–2013), Cambodian politician
* Kham-Oun I (1885–1915), Lao queen consort
* Õun, an Estonian surname; notable people with this surname
* Oun Kham (18 ...
articiple:
*''Urbe capta'' Aeneas fugit.
''With the city captured'', Aeneas fled.
Absolute clauses also appear with an adjective, although less frequently:
*Omnem enim illam partem regionemque ''vivo Cn. Pompeio'' bellum instauraturam esse credebat.
He believed that region, ''with Gnaeus Pompeius alive'', was going to repeat the war. (
De Bello Alexandrino
''De Bello Alexandrino'' (also ''Bellum Alexandrinum''; ''On the Alexandrine War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, ''De Bello Gallico'' and '' De Bello Civili''. It details Caesar's campaigns in Alexandria and Asia.
A ...
42)
In Late Latin, absolute clauses also appear in the nominative and accusative cases, even in conjunction with an ablative absolute:
*''Benedicens nos episcopus,'' profecti sumus
''With the bishop blessing us,'' we departed. (4th century,
Peregrinatio Egeriae 16.7)
*Machinis constructis, ''omniaque genera tormentorum adhibita'', ...
With the machines built, ''and with all types of torture devices in use...'' (6th century,
Jordanes
Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Goths, Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history (''Romana ...
)
Other Indo-European languages
Absolute constructions occur with other
grammatical case
A grammatical case is a category of nouns and noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and Numeral (linguistics), numerals), which corresponds to one or more potential grammatical functions for a nominal group in a wording. In vari ...
s in
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, such as
accusative absolute The accusative absolute is a grammatical construction found in some languages. It is an absolute construction found in the accusative case. Greek
In ancient Greek, the accusative case is used adverbially with participles of impersonal verbs, simi ...
in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and Latin,
genitive absolute
In Ancient Greek grammar, the genitive absolute is a grammatical construction consisting of a participle and often a noun both in the genitive case, which is very similar to the Latin grammar#Ablative absolute, ablative absolute in Latin. A genitiv ...
in Greek, dative absolute in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
,
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
, locative absolute in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and instrumental absolute in Anglo-Saxon.
See also
*
Ablative absolute
Latin syntax is the part of Latin grammar that covers such matters as word order, the use of cases, tenses and moods, and the construction of simple and compound sentences, also known as ''periods''.
The study of Latin syntax in a systematic way ...
*
Accusative absolute The accusative absolute is a grammatical construction found in some languages. It is an absolute construction found in the accusative case. Greek
In ancient Greek, the accusative case is used adverbially with participles of impersonal verbs, simi ...
*
Genitive absolute
In Ancient Greek grammar, the genitive absolute is a grammatical construction consisting of a participle and often a noun both in the genitive case, which is very similar to the Latin grammar#Ablative absolute, ablative absolute in Latin. A genitiv ...
*
Nominative absolute In English grammar, a nominative absolute is a free-standing ( absolute) part of a sentence that describes the main subject and verb. It consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case joined with a predicate that does ...
References
{{Reflist
Grammar
Syntax
Generative syntax