The Absolute
“Absolute” from Latin absolvere, denoting loose or free from.
– Theodore Bernstein, The Careful Writer
The Absolute is also known as an Absolute Construction, Free Modifier or -ing phrase.
Commonly a noun + an –ing verb, the absolute adds a close-up camera shot to your sentence. The comma acts as a zoom lens focusing the reader’s visualization on something small in the larger wide-angle shot of the sentence.
Here are the variations that can be found in literature:
1.) Noun + an –ing, ed, or –en verb (lip quivering, fist knotted, heart broken)
2.) Noun + an adverb (head down, hat off)
3.) Noun + an adjective (head sweaty, shirt white and crisp)
4.) Noun + a preposition (pen in hand)
5.)Preposition (usually with or like) + noun + any of the above variations (with hair standing up on
the back of her neck)
6.) Possessive pronoun + noun + any of the above variations (his knees drawn to his chest)
– Theodore Bernstein, The Careful Writer
The Absolute is also known as an Absolute Construction, Free Modifier or -ing phrase.
Commonly a noun + an –ing verb, the absolute adds a close-up camera shot to your sentence. The comma acts as a zoom lens focusing the reader’s visualization on something small in the larger wide-angle shot of the sentence.
Here are the variations that can be found in literature:
1.) Noun + an –ing, ed, or –en verb (lip quivering, fist knotted, heart broken)
2.) Noun + an adverb (head down, hat off)
3.) Noun + an adjective (head sweaty, shirt white and crisp)
4.) Noun + a preposition (pen in hand)
5.)Preposition (usually with or like) + noun + any of the above variations (with hair standing up on
the back of her neck)
6.) Possessive pronoun + noun + any of the above variations (his knees drawn to his chest)