Absolute Phrases

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Absolute Phrases
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Definition

• An absolute phrase is a modifier made up of nouns
  or pronouns followed by a participle and any
  other modifiers that help complete its meaning.

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For instance

• Her heels clicking together, Dorothy wished her
  way back home.

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Other qualities

• Absolute phrases usually modify the sentence as a
  whole, but does not carry any grammatical weight.
• In other words, absolute phrases can be removed
  from a sentence without grammatically damaging
  the sentence.

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More to know

• Absolute phrases DO NOT contain verbs, nor are
  they connected to the main sentence with a
  conjunction (www.testmagic.com)

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The most common format

• The most common way to form an absolute phrase is
  to have a noun or a pronoun plus a participle.
• The question still unanswered, the teacher
  decided to address the confusion of her students
  more closely.

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Think

• Think about that sentence if it had a verb in the
  phrase, and was connected to the main sentence
  with a conjunction.
• The question was still unanswered, and the
  teacher decided to address the confusion of her
  students more closely.

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Compare

• The question was still unanswered, and the
  teacher decided to address the confusion of her
  students more closely.
• The question still unanswered, the teacher
  decided to address the confusion of her students
  more closely.