Noun Phrases usage in this example

Question

The character was intentionally designed to be very charismatic and articulate, his main source of fear being derived from his warped sense of reasoning.

His features contort with obvious pain as he tells his story, his memories of Caroline clearly something he holds precious.

What separates these from clauses? Answer...
No verb associated with the main verb in regards to the noun phrase?

Is that all that defines them as noun phrases/supplemental phrase.

It has a subject itself 'memories' and verb 'holds' , but no main subject ...although it is referring to the main subject.

There is a causal relationship that is not made explicit. They seem clear to me.

The character was charming (so not scary) but his sense of reasoning was scary.

His face showed pain when thinking about memories of a loved one

What would be a good example of similarly structured sentence with a more clear connection?

I thought the whole point of the supplemental phrase was to summarize the main subject of the sentence and not just one explicit idea?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Nominative (Noun) Absolute Phrase

A nominative absolute is an independent element that consists of a substantive (normally in the nominative case) followed by and modified by a participle or a non-finite participial clause.

The construction is called absolute because it serves no grammatical function in the sentence. It just adds supplemental information.

Examples:
1. Everything considered, our vacation was superb.

Everything is the substantive; considered is the participle that modifies it.

2. He just stood there, his face clearly revealing his disappointment.

Reference: https://www.coursehero.com/file/18906574/Supplemental-Nominative-Absolute-Exercises/

panda blue 483I thought the whole point of the supplemental phrase was to summarize the main subject of the sentence

No, that's not correct. You may be thinking of a noun in apposition.

A noun in apposition can rename or redefine a noun in the sentence, such as a subject.

The former vice-president, Sheila Johnson, will give a speech.

The meeting venue, a French-style chateau being operated now as a boutique hotel, will be available the evening before.

BillJ · Answer

[1] The character was intentionally designed to be very charismatic and articulate, his main source of fear being derived from his warped sense of reasoning.

[2] His features contort with obvious pain as he tells his story, his memories of Caroline clearly something he holds precious.

I don’t know why you think the underlined elements are noun phrases. They are clauses functioning as supplementary adjuncts, and since they contain subjects, they qualify as absolute constructions. An absolute is defined as a supplement consisting of a non-finite clause which, crucially, has a subject -- the presence of the subject renders it syntactically independent of the main clause, hence the term 'absolute'.

In [1] the subject is “his main source of fear”, and the predicate is the verb phrase “being derived from his warped sense of reasoning.

[2] is the verbless analogue of the non-finite “his memories of Caroline clearly being something he holds precious". The subject is “his memories of Caroline".

There is no explicit indication of the semantic relation between the supplement and some element in the main clause; rather, it must be inferred from the content of the clauses or the context. This is one of the properties of absolutes that distinguishes them from other non-finite clausal supplements.

Noun Phrases usage in this example

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