- •Foreword
- •Contents
- •Morphology the noun
- •The Category of Number
- •Invariable Nouns
- •The Genitive Case
- •Types of the Genitive Case
- •The article
- •Functions of the Article
- •The Use of Articles with Abstract Nouns
- •The Use of Articles with Material Nouns
- •The Use of Articles with Predicative Nouns and Nouns in Apposition
- •The Use of Articles in Some Set Expressions Nouns in set expressions used with the indefinite article
- •Nouns in set expressions used with the definite article
- •Nouns in set expressions used without an article
- •The Use of Articles with Some Semantic Groups of Nouns Articles with Names of Seasons and Parts of the Day
- •Articles with Names of Meals
- •Articles with the Nouns school, college, prison, jail, church, hospital
- •Articles with Names of Parts of the Body
- •Articles with Names of Specific Periods
- •The Use of Articles with Proper Names
- •Names of Persons
- •Geographical Names
- •Calendar Items
- •Miscellaneous Proper Names
- •The adjective
- •Morphological Composition
- •Semantic Characteristics
- •Descriptive adjective Limiting adjective
- •The Position of Adjectives
- •Degrees of Comparison
- •Patterns of Comparison
- •Intensifiers of Adjectives
- •Substantivized Adjectives
- •Adjectives and Adverbs
- •Oblique moods
- •Temporal Relations within the Oblique Moods
- •Subjunctive II
- •A. Simple Sentence
- •B. Complex Sentence
- •The Conditional Mood
- •The Suppositional Mood and Subjunctive I
- •Syntax the sentence
- •Sentence
- •The Simple Sentence. Structural Types
- •Communicative Types of Sentences
- •Interrogative sentences
- •Imperative sentences
- •The subject
- •Ways of expressing the Subject
- •Structural Types of the Subject
- •“It” and “there” as Subjects notional “it”
- •Formal subjects ‘’it” and “there”
- •The predicate
- •Agreement of the predicate with the subject Grammatical Agreement
- •Pronouns as Subjects
- •Agreement with Homogeneous Subjects
- •Notional Agreement
- •The object
- •Types of Objects
- •Structure and Ways of Expressing
- •Predicative Constructions that Function as Objects
- •The attribute
- •The apposition
- •The adverbial modifier
- •Structural Types of the Adverbial Modifier
- •Semantic Characteristics of the Adverbial Modifier
- •Absolute nominative constructions
- •Non-prepositional Absolute Constructions
- •The composite sentence
- •The Compound Sentence
- •The Complex Sentence
- •Nominal Clauses
- •Attributive Clauses
- •Adverbial Clauses
- •2. Adverbial clauses of place
- •Glossary of Linguistic Terms
- •List of Books
Absolute nominative constructions
These constructions are called absolute because they are not dependent on any other part of the including sentence, though they cannot be used without it, as they lack a finite verb form and thus have no predicate.
1) From the point of view of their transformational possibility, absolute constructions fall into two types: verbal and non-verbal.
А. Constructions with verbals as their second part.
When transformed into clauses they retain their predicate part, which takes a proper tense-aspect form.
She sat on the porch, Mary playing with her doll. ― She sat on the porch, and (while) Mary was playing with her doll.
В. Constructions with non-verbals with an adjective, a stative, an adverb or a noun (with a preposition) as their second part.
When transformed into clauses, a proper form of the link verb to be must be introduced, as these constructions lack a verbal component of their own.
He marched out of the room, his head high up. ― He marched out of the room, and his head was high up.
2) Absolute constructions may have two forms: non-prepositional and prepositional. The latter is introduced by the preposition with (in the case of the infinitive construction it may be without):
He was coming to us, his hands up.
Dinner over, everybody rose.
Non-prepositional Absolute Constructions
1. The absolute nominative with Participle I construction (the most frequently used):
It being late, he bolted the windows.
2. The absolute nominative with Participle II construction:
Dinner served, Mrs Marlow rang the bell. ― When dinner was served…
3. The absolute nominative with the Infinitive construction:
There they remained, some of them to be entirely forgotten. ― … and some of them were to be entirely forgotten.
4. The absolute nominative with the adjective construction:
She stood under the tree, her head full of strange ideas. ―…and her head was full…
Her heart full of despair, she could not say a word. ― As her heart was full…
5. The absolute nominative with the stative construction:
The gallery door slightly ajar, I could hear the steps of the soldiers.
6. The absolute nominative with the adverb construction:
Tea over, she again summoned us to the fire. ― When tea was over…
7. The absolute nominative with a prepositional noun construction:
I waited, every nerve upon the stretch.
All in the room, she called in Molly.
Prepositional Absolute Constructions
Prepositional absolute construction with Participle I:
With his head aching from the slap of the bullet and the blood dripping over the ear, he went over to the Frenchman.
Prepositional absolute construction with Participle II:
A Negro boy lay on the pavement, with his throat cut.
Prepositional absolute construction with the Infinitive:
You’ll lose the last minutes, without someone to take care of you.
Prepositional absolute construction with the adjective:
She hurriedly left the room with her eyes red.
Prepositional absolute construction with the stative:
He stood there trembling, with his face ablaze.
Prepositional absolute construction with the adverb:
He turned away, with his hand still up.
Prepositional absolute construction with a noun:
They marched towards the square, with little flags in their hands.