Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes

How do I bring forth action in my writing with absolutes?

Please grab a pink warm up and glue it ¼ of the way down

page 9 of your Composition Book.

(We will write above it). If the

model short answer went on to page 9, rename that page 8B and create a

new page 9!

Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes

What Skills are we practicing?1. using a variety of correctly structured

sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

2. Use and understand complex grammatical structures in writing (an absolute phrase is a complex structure)

Painting with Absolutes

• What is an absolute phrase?

• An ABSOLUTE PHRASE is a NOUN combined with

an –ing Verb

• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.To add an absolute phrase, we need to focus in on a SPECIFIC PART of the cat.

• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.Now, for each part, write an associated action verb (Remember to put it into ING form)

• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.The combination of these nouns and ing-verbs (into absolute phrases), when added to the original sentence, creates more vivid imagry.

• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.

Painting with Absolutes

• Where do I see Absolutes in writing?

• Absolutes can be found at the beginning of a sentence (separated from the main sentence with a comma), in the middle of the sentence between two commas, or sometimes even at the end (again, separated from the main sentence with a comma).

Painting with Absolutes

• An Absolute Phrase is ALWAYS separated from the rest of the sentence with a Comma, or more than 1 COMMAS.

• For example, look at this sentence:

• The mountain climber edged along the cliff.

• The above sentence gives an idea of the scene, but lacks DESCRIPTION

• Now, watch the effect when we add an ABSOLUTE to the sentence:

• The mountain climber, hands shaking, edged along the cliff.

• Now we have a word picture that includes detailed description!

• We can choose where to place the absolute phrase. Here is the same sentence with the absolute moved to the beginning of the sentence

• Hands shaking, the mountain climber edged along the cliff.

• (Sometimes it also works to put the absolute at the end as well!)

Can I use more than one Absolute?• You can add more than one

absolute to a sentence:• Hands shaking and feet

trembling, the mountain climber edged along the cliff.

More Examples of Absolutes

• Mind racing with excitement, the diver peered once more at the specimen as he glanced upward and swam for the surface.

• I glanced at my clock, digits glowing florescent blue in the darkness of my room, then rolled over to return to my slumber.

• The kitten, jaws cracking, tongue curling, yawned tiredly as she awakened from her nap.

Your Turn

• Now that you know what ABSOLUTES are and how they are used correctly, it’s your turn to try adding them to your writing.

• Don’t forget to separate absolutes from the rest of the sentence by using commas

Copy this into your journal, adding an ABSOLUTE:1. The car sped through the

intersection.

2. The dog barked loudly.

3. The door opened.

6. The paperclip landed on the floor.

6. The girl entered the room.

Absolutes Review

• An ABSOLUTE is a NOUN combined with an –ing PARTICIPLE

• Formula: noun + participle = absolute• Examples:

– Mind racing with excitement, the diver, peered once more at the specimen as he glanced upward and swam for the surface.

– The kitten, jaws cracking, tongue curling, yawned tiredly as she awakened from her nap.