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his ideas for increasing the chance of success   (noun phrase)He just stood there, his face clearly revealing his disappointment. (nominative absolute)So, the first example doesn't have a subject, but the second example has 'his disappointment'.But other than that, they share the same structure do they not? Are these correct?She ran all the way to the playground, her friends following.   (noun phrase) _She ran all the way to the playground, the sweat dripping from her head (absolute) It say's online that you can test for subordinate adjuncthood to recognize an absolute clause and switch the absolute to the front or back of the sentence too. Would you agree with this or not? I'm sure they are exceptions but I can't think of any myself.With the sweat dripping from her head, she ran to school.He lost the race, with his face clearly revealing his disappointment.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

panda blue 483his ideas for increasing the chance of success (noun phrase)

[ [ his ideas ]_NP for [ increasing [ the chance of [ success ]_NP ]_NP ]_NP ]_NP

Actually, there five noun phrases here, four embedded within the largest one.

'increasing' is a gerund (a noun-like -ing form of a verb), not a participle as in your other examples.

panda blue 483He just stood there, his face clearly revealing his disappointment.

Here the participle clause has an explicit subject (his face) rather than the usual implied subject (identical to the subject of the main clause). As you indicated, this is called an absolute construction.

panda blue 483So, the first example doesn't have a subject

The first example doesn't have much of anything. A noun phrase can be a subject, an object, the object of a preposition, etc., but there is not enough of a sentence here to know which of these functions the noun phrase has. Maybe it is the subject of a sentence from which it was taken.

panda blue 483but the second example has 'his disappointment'.

On the contrary, his face is the subject and his disappointment is the direct object of the verb 'reveal'.

panda blue 483But other than that, they share the same structure do they not?

They do not, as explained above. A noun phrase is not a clause, not even a participle clause. You have also confused two different uses of the -ing form of a verb: gerund and participle.

panda blue 483Are these correct? She ran all the way to the playground, her friends following. ~~(noun phrase)~~ _She ran all the way to the playground, the sweat dripping from her head (absolute)

The sentences are correct, but both highlighted structures are participle clauses with explicit subjects (her friends and the sweat, respectively), and thus absolute constructions.

panda blue 483It say's online that you can test for subordinate adjuncthood to recognize an absolute clause and switch the absolute to the front or back of the sentence too. Would you agree with this or not?

I neither agree nor disagree because I've really never thought about this at all.

CJ

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