Grammar, Style, and Absolute Phrases

By Jonah Charney-Sirott, Writing Consultant

When revising your work, it’s important to proofread for grammatical errors, as well as for stylistic concerns. What is the difference between the two, you might be wondering? A grammatical error is one that breaks a rule of the English language, an error that can be definitively noted as right or wrong. Style, on the other hand, is much more subjective. Take passive voice, for example. Rules-wise, there is nothing incorrect when it comes to the phrase “A qualitative approach was utilized to conduct the study.” Government officials, for example, speak this way all the time (“mistakes were made”).  However, APA prefers students write in the active voice instead.

Now that we’ve got the difference between grammar and style out of the way, let’s discuss what are known as absolute phrases. An absolute phrase is an example of a grammatical rule, not a style issue, because if you use an absolute phrase incorrectly, your sentence will likely confuse your reader.

The study being completed, the researchers concluded that no change in policy was necessary.

Or

Arms trembling, the student admitted his wrongdoing.

In these sentences, the absolute phrases have a noun (study, arms) and a modifier (being completed, trembling). Without the noun + modifier construction followed by a comma and further information, the sentence would not make sense. Though absolute phrases do not necessarily need to come at the beginning of a sentence, they are dependent on the rest of the words in the sentence.

Why is this important? For reasons of style, of course! If too many sentences start with the same word, the reader’s attention may start to wander, so changing opening words and phrases can be refreshing. Using the absolute phrase model of noun plus modifier can add variety to your work. However, when changing your sentence structures to include absolute phrases, be sure to follow the grammatical rules that will help your reader comprehend, understand, and perhaps even enjoy your sentences.

Practice time! Try using absolute phrases to vary the simple sentence structure here:

Smith created a survey of 15 multiple-choice questions. She distributed the survey to participants in the middle-school setting. Thirty of the 100 participants returned the survey. She analyzed the results. She determined instructional technology has a positive effect on student engagement.