Absolute construction

In linguistics, an absolute construction is a grammatical 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 in form and modifies an entire sentence, an adjective or possessive pronoun standing alone without a modified substantive, or a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated.[1][2][3][4] The term absolute derives from Latin absolūtum, meaning "loosened from" or "separated".[5]

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.[4] The difference is that the participial phrase 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.

Contents

English

A notable example of an absolute construction in English is the sentence composing the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution:

“ A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ”

In this example, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" serves as the absolute clause.[6] Use of this construction to introduce a justification clause was not unusual during the time the amendment was written, but because of its unfamiliarity to present-day English speakers, this interpretation is somewhat contentious.[7]

While the absolute construction is not particularly common in modern English and is generally more often seen in writing than in speech, it may be spoken as one of several fixed expressions[4]:

Example Usages:

Being a word, phrase, or construction that is isolated syntactically from the rest of a sentence:
  • “this being the case, let us go”[1]
  • "The referee having finally arrived, the game began."[2]'
Being an adjective or pronoun that stands alone when the noun it modifies is being implied but not stated.
  • "Theirs were the best."[2]
  • “help the blind”[1]
  • “your work and ours"[1]'
Being a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated:
  • We have a teacher who inspires.[2]
  • “if looks could kill”[1]'

Latin

Absolute clauses appear in Latin with the modifying participle in the ablative case; for this reason they are referred to as ablative absolutes.[5] 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 [noun] [participle]":

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e [1]
  2. ^ a b c d American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
  3. ^ Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1265–6. ISBN 0-521-43146-8. 
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1996. p. 1. ISBN 0-395-76785-7. http://web.archive.org/web/20080728061355/http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/001.html. 
  5. ^ a b Wheelock, Frederic; LaFleur, Richard (2005). Wheelock's Latin (6th ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. pp. 155–7. ISBN 0-06-078371-0. 
  6. ^ "Brief for Professors of Linguistics and English…In Support of Petitioners, District of Columbia v. Heller". On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (No. 07-290). American Bar Association. http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/pdfs/07-08/07-290_PetitionerAmCu3LinguisticsEnglishProfsnew.pdf. 
  7. ^ Volokh, Eugene (1998). "The Commonplace Second Amendment". NYU L. Rev. 73 (793). http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/common.htm.