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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
What do you call this descriptive phrase?
A castle stood before me, its walls cracked and crumbling.
First of all, is the sentence grammatically correct?
Second of all, what would you call the descriptive phrase after the comma?
First of all, is the sentence grammatically correct?
Second of all, what would you call the descriptive phrase after the comma?
Top answer
A castle stood before me, its walls cracked and crumbling. Semantically this sentence consists of two statements. A castle stood before me; its walls were cracked and crumbling.
- A castle stood before me, its walls cracked and crumbling.
- Semantically this sentence consists of two statements.
- A castle stood before me; its walls were cracked and crumbling.
- The latter part is called an absolute participle clause.
- The participle clause gives additional information to what is described in the main clause.
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4 Answers
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A castle stood before me, its walls cracked and crumbling.
Semantically this sentence consists of two statements.
A castle stood before me; its walls were cracked and crumbling.
The latter part is called an absolute participle clause.
The participle clause gives additional information to what is described in the main clause.
Semantically this sentence consists of two statements.
A castle stood before me; its walls were cracked and crumbling.
The latter part is called an absolute participle clause.
The participle clause gives additional information to what is described in the main clause.
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I see you made the descriptive phrase into a complete sentence, making the semicolon the proper punctuation. Does that mean the original sentence was incorrect as it was?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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AnonymousI see you made the descriptive phrase into a complete sentence, making the semicolon the proper punctuation. Does that mean the original sentence was incorrect as it was?Your original sentence (absolute participle construct) is grammatically correct. But this sort of style is too bookish. It might sound poetical to some people. But
Thanks!
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As Paco said, your sentence, after the comma, is an absolute participle construction. It is also grammatically correct; however, you shall want to drop the pronoun before the construction. There is no ambiguity in your saying "The castle stood before me, walls cracked and crumbling."
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