In Writing – Grammar Oddity, The Ablative Absolute

The Ablative Absolute Defined
First, it’s not as big a bowel movement as it sounds. In simple terms, the ablative absolute is a thought, condition, or action that is separate–but modifies the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
I Thought You Said It Was Simple?
Okay, I’ll try again. The ablative absolute does not modify the subject in the sentence. It’s sometimes thought of as an adverbial phrase because it modifies the action of a verb, yet the ablative absolute can never be the subject of the sentence. Now it’s crystal clear, right?
It’s Clear As Mud
What can make it even muddier is that the phrase cannot be linked to any other part of the sentence, at least directly. This means that no preposition can introduce the phrase. Yet it implies an action caused by the main clause that pertains to time, condition, cause, or contention. And it’s also most often written in passive tense. Now it’s beyond muddy.
Ah, But There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel
The guests having left the party, Jill poured herself a stiff one. (Which is likely what many of you will want to do after reading this.) In the sentence preceding my silly parenthetical expression, the guests leaving have absolutely nothing to do syntactically with Jill pouring herself a strong drink.
Those of you who studied Caesar in the second year of Latin might remember “With Caesar’s army approaching the river, the enemy pulled up stakes and left.” In this example, “the enemy pulled up stakes and left” has zero to do directly with Caesar’s army approaching. Yes, it can be assumed this influenced the decision, but this is not expressed anywhere in the sentence.
You’ll also notice that most sentences containing an ablative absolute are written in passive tense, which I alluded to earlier. This can lead to some very awkward construction. And a good reason we don’t see this in much modern writing.
The Ablative Absolute Is a Phrase That a Noted Academic Describes as an Independent Subset
While the phrase is indeed “absolute” as to carrying its own meaning, there’s wide speculation as to how the word “ablative” evolved. Or at least I can’t determine its etymology, and I’ve searched far and wide for a definitive answer. What matters is that it’s one of those fun oddities in language that some of us who work in the medium find entertaining. Yes, we have to get our thrills where we can, and this was really exciting, don’t you know?