This document defines and provides examples of absolute phrases. An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any optional modifiers or objects. It describes the whole clause rather than modifying a specific word. Examples are given such as "legs quivering" and "her arms folded across her chest" to illustrate the pattern of a noun followed by a participle and optional modifiers or objects.

1. T h e A b s o l u t e P h r a s e
Recognize an absolute phrase when you see one.
An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or
objects. The pattern looks like this:
N O U N + P A R T I C I P L E + O P T I O N A L M O D I F I E R ( S ) A N D / O R O B J E C T ( S )
Here are some examples:
Legs quivering
Legs = noun; quivering = participle.
Her arms folded across her chest
Arms = noun; folded = participle; her, across her chest = modifiers.
Our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the plates
Fingers = noun; scraping = participle; frosting = direct object; our, the, leftover, off the
plates = modifiers.
Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase will describe the whole clause:
Legs quivering, our old dog Gizmo dreamed of chasing squirrels.
Her arms folded across her chest, Professor Hill warned the class
about the penalties of plagiarism.
We devoured Aunt Lenora's carrot cake, our fingers scraping the
leftover frosting off the plates.
©1997 - 2012 by Robin L. Simmons
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