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 In linguistics, a non-finite clause is a dependent or embedded clause that represents a state or event in the same way no matter whether it takes place before, during, or after text production. In this sense, a non-finite dependent clause represe ...

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 ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

possessive pronoun A possessive or ktetic form ( abbreviated or ; from la, possessivus; grc, κτητικός, translit=ktētikós) is a word or grammatical construction used to indicate a relationship of possession in a broad sense. This can include strict ow ...

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. 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, 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 In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. ...

; 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 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 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 Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...

)

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 numerals), which corresponds to one or more potential grammatical functions for a nominal group in a wording. In various languages, nomin ...

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, D ...

, 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 ...

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 ablative absolute in Latin. A genitive absolute construction serves a ...

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 settlers in the mid-5th ...

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 literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and othe ...

, locative absolute in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

and instrumental absolute in Anglo-Saxon.

References

{{Reflist Grammar Syntax Generative syntax

English

Latin

Other Indo-European languages

See also

References