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ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTIONS A) Absolute Constructions and “Construcciones absolutas” An ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION (or Absolute Clause) is an adverbial clause that has its own subject and has a present participle as its verb: ‘The dinner having been prepared, I had no time to take a nap before the guests arrived’. Here, the verb is the participle phrase having been prepared and the subject is the dinner. Contrast the adverbial participle clause in ‘Having prepared the dinner, I had no time to take a nap’ where the subject of having prepared dinner is understood to be identical to the main subject I. (THIS IS NOT WHAT WE CONSIDER AN ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION. IN A SENTENCE THAT BEARS AN ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION THE SUBJECT OF EACH CLAUSE HAS TO BE DIFFERENT). An absolute construction is NOT introduced by a subordinating conjunction: after having prepared dinner and while preparing the dinner are not absolute constructions. Absolute Constructions can be used in similar ways to full adverbial clauses, expressing condition, reason, time relations, etc. (This can only happen, of course, when the idea of condition, reason, etc. is so clear that no conjunction is needed to signal it). Note that Absolute Constructions can be made with the verbs be or have which are not normally used in progressive tenses. In these cases, the absolute construction usually expresses reason or cause. Construcciones Absolutas Proposición Adverbial de Gerundio: el gerundio (-ando, -iendo) es la forma adverbial del verbo, es el adverbio formado directamente sobre un verbo. Las proposiciones constituidas con gerundio denotan tiempo, modo, condición, concesión y causa. Ejemplos: 1. Estando yo en el cine, se desató un incendio.  TIEMPO 2. Estando tu conforme, no hay problemas.  CONDICIÓN 3. Habiéndose terminado el cupo de hoy, no se despachan más localidades.  CAUSA

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Notemos que la noción expresada por la proposición de gerundio, salvo, en general, cuando es de tiempo, queda más o menos teñida de otras nociones posibles, de modo que a veces, sin conocer la situación a que alude la oración, no es fácil seleccionar la que se quiso exponer. Proposición Adverbial de Participio: el participio (-ado, -ido) es la forma que toma el verbo para funcionar como adjetivo. Pero puede ocurrir que no actúe como adjetivo referido a un nombre que es sujeto o complemento de la oración, sino que se refiera y acompañe a un nombre que no desempeña otra función que la de sujeto del propio participio, con el cual forma una construcción unitaria incrustada dentro de la oración. Esta construcción funciona como complemento del verbo adverbial, con idea fundamental de tiempo. 1.

Terminada la fiesta, todos se fueron a casa.

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Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia.

La noción de tiempo puede ir reforzada o precisada por algún adverbio antepuesto al participio. 1.

Una vez cumplidos todos los requisitos, se celebró la representación.

TANTO LAS PROPOSICIONES ADVERBIALES DE PARTICIPIO COMO LAS DE GERUNDIO CUYO SUJETO ES DISTINTO DEL DE LA ORACIÓN RECIBEN TRADICIONALMENTE LA DENOMINACIÓN DE CONSTRUCCIONES ABSOLUTAS. B) Further comments and examples on absolute constructions In absolute constructions that structure is always in subject position, that is, there is a participial phrase that contains its own subject. Eg.: The holder having presented the cheque, the funds were credited to his account. Look at the translations of these sentences from Spanish into English and see how the absolute constructions have been used. 1) Como no había fondos suficientes en la cuenta, el cheque fue rechazado. There being no sufficient funds / The funds not being sufficient, the cheque was dishonoured. 2) Puesto que la letra se libró pagadera a 60 días vista, se la presentó para la aceptación con el fin de establecer la fecha de vencimiento.

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The Bill of Exchange having been made / being made payable 60 days after sight, the payee presented it for acceptance so that the maturity date could be fixed. C) More examples and comments 1) “Should more than one original, all of this tenor and date, be issued on request of shipper, one of them being accomplished, the others are to be void.” This is an example of an absolute construction, which is a structure that is literary rather than colloquial. Notice that the construction in the example is in the passive voice, its subject being “one of them”. Absolute constructions have their own expressed subject and they are used to introduce the ideas of “time” and “reason”. In this example the absolute construction makes reference to “time”. This can be seen more clearly if the construction is rephrased into an adverbial clause: “…when one original is accomplished, the others are void.” 2) “[…] a trust not being a charitable trust in order to be effective must have ascertained or ascertainable beneficiaries.” This is another case of absolute construction. If compared with example number 1, we can see this example is in the active voice, its subject is “a trust” and the construction introduces the idea of “reason”, i.e. the embodied concept is: “the reason why a trust to be effective must have ascertained or ascertainable beneficiaries is that it is not a charitable trust.” 3) “A negotiable instrument is one which passes from hand to hand without notice being given to the party who is liable on it, and without the recipient having to take it.” 4) “The bank now owns the bill, it having been endorsed to them”. 5) “Proof of special damage is not required, damages being assessed without reference to pecuniary loss.” D) General practice exercises on absolute constructions Paraphrase the following sentences. 1) Now that autumn has come, we may perhaps look forward to less hot weather. Autumn having come, we may perhaps look forward to less hot weather. OK 3

2) I found I had wasted my time going to the sale. The best bargains had already been snapped up earlier in the day. I found I had wasted my time going to the sale, the best bargains having (being) already been snapped up earlier in the day. 3) The children had a week´s holiday. The school had been closed because of an influenza epidemic. The children had a week’s holiday, the school having been closed because of an influenza epidemic. OK 4) No one was surprised at the change in bank rate. It had already been confidently expected by investors. No one was surprised at the change in bank rate, it having been confidently expected by investors. OK 5) We decided not to visit Oxford. It was then the time of the summer vacation. There were few students in residence. There being few students because of summer vacation, we decided not to visit Oxford. OK 6) He had to put off buying a house. The bank was unable to lend him any money at that time. He had to put off buying a house, the bank being unable to lend him any money at that time. OK

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