Absolute Phrases
Absolutes (absolute phrases) are phrases that describe the rest of the sentence in which they appear. Absolutes are almost complete sentences. As a test, you can make any absolute a sentence by adding was or were:
She returned to her bench, her face showing all the unhappiness that had suddenly overtaken her.
Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy
Below are some examples of absolute phrases from the story "Checkouts" by Cynthia Rylant:
"Once inside the supermarket, her hands firmly around the handle of the cart, she
would lapse into a kind of reverie and wheel toward the produce."
"He was nervous—first day on the job—and along had come this fascinating girl,
standing in the checkout line with the unfocused stare one often sees in young children,
her face turned enough away that he might take several full looks at her as he packed
sturdy bags full of food and the goods of modern life."
Identify the absolute phrase and the participial phrase in the quote below:
"Each time she went to the store, her eyes scanned the checkouts at once, her heart in her
mouth. And each hour he worked, the bag boy kept one eye on the door, watching for the
red-haired girl with the big orange bow."
Combine the sentences below by using absolute phrases:
Her hands were ice cold. She tried to manage the tractor.
Tears were streaming down her face. She gave her farewell speech.
The storks circled above us. Their slender bodies were sleek and black against the orange sky.
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Step 5 - Scrambled exercises:
Example: (write on board)
while Buck struggled in fury / then the rope tightened mercilessly / and his great chest panting / his tongue lolling out of his mouth
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
1. to light the cigarette / his throat sore / he forgot / his head aching
Sinclair Lewis, Cass Timberlane
2. wherever it settled its weight / The dinosaur ran / its taloned feet clawing damp earth / leaving prints six inches deep / its pelvic bone crushing aside trees and bushes
Ray Bradbury, “Sound of Thunder”
3. her shoulders drooping a little / her glasses winking in the sunlight / she was now standing arms akimbo / her head cocked to one side
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
4. as if he could squeal or laugh out loud / his hand in one pocket clutching the money / he felt / his feet sinking in the soft nap of the carpet.
Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy