Appositives vs Absolute Phrases: ? about Ron Post

[ells1986]

This is a question that originally came up when I reviewed Ron's answer to the question: "The number of people flying first class on domestic flights rose sharply in 1990, doubling the increase of the previous year."

Ron, you wrote the following: "In this case, you can't use "..., twice as many as...", because that's an appositive modifier. appositives must modify some noun that comes IMMEDIATELY before the comma, which in this case would have to be whatever figure is twice whatever other figure.

Ok, that makes total sense; appositives don't modify the entire preceding clause. BUT, per the Sentence Correction book, we CAN use ABSOLUTE PHRASES to modify the ENTIRE preceding clause (Example from the book: "His head held high..."). My question is: How does one distinguish between an APPOSITIVE and an ABSOLUTE PHRASE? Is the issue that an ABSOLUTE PHRASE always has a verb in it while an APPOSITIVE doesn't?

Thanks!

[ells1986]

An addition to my earlier post...per my question about whether ABSOLUTE PHRASES contain a verb (as opposed to APPOSITIVES, which do not), I came across more detail in the glossary of my Manhattan SC book that further muddies things for me.

One of the example sentences for an ABSOLUTE PHRASE is "The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment." Obviously this doesn't contain a verb but it's still an ABSOLUTE PHRASE. So, I'm puzzled.

Ron, can you clarify? Obviously what I'm trying to establish is a clear perspective on what can be attached to the end of a sentence to modify THE ENTIRE preceding clause. Per my SC book, either an -ING PHRASE or an ABSOLUTE PHRASE (",results that suggest...") can do this work. But per your other post, an APPOSITIVE only must modify the noun IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING it. I know there must be a clear distinction b/t the two. THANKS MUCH IN ADVANCE!!!

[rajkapoor]

while we wait for Ron to answer your question ,I will try to answer a part of your question (though not absolutely )

absolute phrases - act as adverbs / often show cause and effect , may contain other verbs BUT will not contain a helping verb as part of its core.

Taking the example you cited -
The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment.

It was formed from two sentences.

The car fell into the lake. (cause)
The cold water was filling the compartment.(result after the fall of car into the lake).

Remove 'was' from the sentence and you get a absolute phrase.
"the cold water filling the compartment"

likewise , his head held high is actually "He was holding his head high" Or "His head was head high" - remove 'was'/were/is/am/are and you get absolute phrase

So absolute phrases reflect some action.

while Appositives are mere descriptive phrases for the noun/pronoun,providing more info on them.

The car, lamborghini previously owned by raj and red in color with gold plated tire rims, fell in the lake , the cold water filling the compartment.

It is formed from following sentences
The car fell in the lake.
the car was lambroghini
the Car was owned by raj
It was red in color and had gold plated rims.

The middle structure describes the car but doesnt have any effect on the sentence
while the last part , an absolute phrase, shows the result of fall - cold water started filling the compartment

(and obviously painted a grim picture for raj , seeing a car he never owned drown and its compartments getting filled - hope this info doesn't show up in Carfax)

Trick as to the phrase is absolute or appositve -

put 'was' or is or were between the subject and the next word
if it completes a sentence AND if the completed sentence shows some action (not exactly jackie chan style..but close), you got an absolute phrase
if the completed sentence merely describes something , then you got an appositve.

give it a try - i just came up with this while answering
Again this information about Absolutes is not absolute , but it has helped me wade through some rough waters...

[ells1986]

Thanks Raj. Interesting comments. I'm looking forward to hearing Ron's take. While it may seem like an arcane question, I think it gets to a critical issue, which is the whole question of how to modify a prior clause vs just the prior word. Instructors, Ron, Stacey, et al, looking forward to your thoughts!