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Difference between Appositive and Absolute phrases.

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by winniethepooh » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:02 am
I want to know what is the difference between an Appositive phrase and an Absolute phrase.
Absolute:1.The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment.
_________2.His arm in pain, Guillermo strode out of the building.

Appositive:The coach, an old classmate of mine, was not pleased.

Also, is its implication important for us to understand? (as in, does it affect our ability to answer the questions correctly?)
How do we deal with them during the test?
Last edited by winniethepooh on Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by GmatKiss » Tue Aug 30, 2011 4:29 am
Interesting doubt posted!
Waiting for replies and their application in solving SC, if any.

TIA,
GK
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by arnabis2good » Tue Aug 30, 2011 4:44 am
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it.

Absolute phrases do not directly connect to or modify any specific word in the rest of the sentence; instead, they modify the entire sentence, adding information.

Sources:
https://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm
https://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm
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by mundasingh123 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:43 am
winniethepooh wrote:I want to know what is the difference between an Appositive phrase and an Absolute phrase.
Appositive:1.The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment.
__________ 2.His arm in pain, Guillermo strode out of the building.

Absolute:The coach, an old classmate of mine, was not pleased.

Also, is its implication important for us to understand? (as in, does it affect our ability to answer the questions correctly?)
How do we deal with them during the test?
You stated just the opposite
what you identified as absolute is in fact appositive and vice versa
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
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by winniethepooh » Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:37 pm
Thanks for catching that.
Oops that was a mistake. I have edited the original post above.
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by SticklorForDetails » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:40 pm
winniethepooh wrote:I want to know what is the difference between an Appositive phrase and an Absolute phrase.
Absolute:1.The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment.
_________2.His arm in pain, Guillermo strode out of the building.

Appositive:The coach, an old classmate of mine, was not pleased.

Also, is its implication important for us to understand? (as in, does it affect our ability to answer the questions correctly?)
How do we deal with them during the test?
#2 is an appositive: "His arm in pain" modifies "Guillermo".

I can't think of a way in which this difference would matter on the GMAT. The GMAT uses many modifiers, including absolute modifiers, appositive modifiers, and summative modifiers, to convey meaning. They are all absolutely acceptable as long as the meaning is clear. The GMAT will test errors in modification, meaning modifiers that are ambiguous (it's unclear what they modify), misplaced (they modify logically the wrong thing), or dangling (there is no appropriate noun anywhere for them to modify). All of your examples above are acceptable modification and no one construction is better than another as long as they are clear, meaning, error-free.
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by winniethepooh » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:09 am
I really appreciate your comments Adam!
SticklorForDetails wrote:
winniethepooh wrote:I want to know what is the difference between an Appositive phrase and an Absolute phrase.
Absolute:1.The car fell into the lake, the cold water filling the compartment.
_________2.His arm in pain, Guillermo strode out of the building.

Appositive:The coach, an old classmate of mine, was not pleased.

Also, is its implication important for us to understand? (as in, does it affect our ability to answer the questions correctly?)
How do we deal with them during the test?
#2 is an appositive: "His arm in pain" modifies "Guillermo".
MGMAT states it as an absolute phrase example.

I can't think of a way in which this difference would matter on the GMAT. The GMAT uses many modifiers, including absolute modifiers, appositive modifiers, and summative modifiers, to convey meaning. They are all absolutely acceptable as long as the meaning is clear. The GMAT will test errors in modification, meaning modifiers that are ambiguous (it's unclear what they modify), misplaced (they modify logically the wrong thing), or dangling (there is no appropriate noun anywhere for them to modify). All of your examples above are acceptable modification and no one construction is better than another as long as they are clear, meaning, error-free.
So, does it mean that whether a modifier is an appositive or an absolute doesn't matter?
I mean, isn't there a treatment difference with what we can use after or before the absolute or appositive phrases.
I am not sure of a specific question I would want to ask in this regard, just brushing through basics so thought would clear all doubts.
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