Adjective, Adjective Phrase, and Absolute Phrase

Question

Hi all,I hope to get your responses on the following:1. “He was standing in front of the fire, round-shouldered, his hands in his coat pockets, his feet thrust into a pair of Ravelston’s slippers which were much too big for him.”- Is “round-shouldered” an adjective modifying “He” here, not an absolute like the next phrases in the sentence? - Had it better be placed near “He”? “Round-shouldered, he was standing . . . “2. “He, bold in resolve, planned to win her over.”“Anton and Lacey met, completely unaware of their love for one another.” “Anton continued to stand there, entranced by her spell”-Are “bold in resolve,” “completely unaware of their love,” and “entranced by her spell” adjective phrases modifying only the nouns/pronouns (“He” or “Anton and Lacy” or “Anton” here)? - I saw some websites mentioning “completely unaware of their love” and “entranced by her spell” as absolute phrases, meaning they modify the entire main clauses. But I find no leading nouns here as the absolute phrase construction demands (a noun plus a modifier—participle or not), only adjectives. Please help clarify with possibilities of absolute phrases without a leading noun.Thank you

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

flora123
1. “He was standing in front of the fire, round-shouldered, his hands in his coat pockets, his feet thrust into a pair of Ravelston’s slippers which were much too big for him.”
- Is “round-shouldered” an adjective modifying “He” here, not an absolute like the next phrases in the sentence? Yes.
- Had it better be placed near “He”? “Round-shouldered, he was standing . . . “ No. That is not necessary nor advisable.

flora123
2. “He, bold in resolve, planned to win her over.”
“Anton and Lacey met, completely unaware of their love for one another.”
“Anton continued to stand there, entranced by her spell”
-Are “bold in resolve,” “completely unaware of their love,” and “entranced by her spell” adjective phrases modifying only the nouns/pronouns (“He” or “Anton and Lacy” or “Anton” here)? Yes.

flora123- I saw some websites mentioning “completely unaware of their love” and “entranced by her spell” as absolute phrases, meaning they modify the entire main clauses. But I find no leading nouns here as the absolute phrase construction demands (a noun plus a modifier—participle or not), only adjectives. Correct.

Not all websites use the same definitions for these constructions. More typically, any construction that is called "absolute" starts with a noun phrase (NP). I would stick to that definition, and it seems to me that that it what you are doing.

A more narrow definition says that an absolute construction must not only start with an NP, but it must also contain a participle. Thus it is a special kind of participle clause.

A less narrow definition of the absolute construction allows any kind of phrase to follow the NP (but it's most often an adjective phrase). Some linguists call these small clauses.

flora123Please help clarify with possibilities of absolute phrases without a leading noun.

The only places you will find those possibilities is on websites that have very loose and vague definitions. If I were you, I would ignore those websites.

CJ

BillJ · Answer

flora1231. “He was standing in front of the fire, round-shouldered, his hands in his coat pockets, his feet thrust into a pair of Ravelston’s slippers which were much too big for him.”- Is “round-shouldered” an adjective modifying “He” here, not an absolute like the next phrases in the sentence? - Had it better be placed near “He”? “Round-shouldered, he was standing . . .

Not quite. "Round-shouldered" is a compound adjective, but its function is that of predicative adjunct, not modifier.

It's predicative because it refers to a predicand, in this case the subject "he". Compare the predicative "He was round-shouldered".

More precisely, it is a supplement, a loosely attached element detached by punctuation such as commas and a slight pause in speech.

Its linear position is fine -- it's perfectly clear that it refers to "he".

flora1232. “He, bold in resolve, planned to win her over.”“Anton and Lacey met, completely unaware of their love for one another.” “Anton continued to stand there, entranced by her spell”-Are “bold in resolve,” “completely unaware of their love,” and “entranced by her spell” adjective phrases modifying only the nouns/pronouns (“He” or “Anton and Lacy” or “Anton” here)? - I saw some websites mentioning “completely unaware of their love” and “entranced by her spell” as absolute phrases, meaning they modify the entire main clauses. But I find no leading nouns here as the absolute phrase construction demands (a noun plus a modifier—participle or not), only adjectives. Please help clarify with possibilities of absolute phrases without a leading noun.

The same analysis applies here, cf: "He was bold in reserve" / "Anton & Lacey were completely unaware ..."

They cannot be absolute clauses since they have no subject, cf: "His hands gripping the door, he let out a volley of curses".

Absolutes are non-finite clauses that contain a subject, though it is possible for the verb to be missing; for example "His face pale with anger, he stormed out of the room" is the verbless analogue of the above example.

Adjective, Adjective Phrase, and Absolute Phrase

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