Some sentences may appear to be missing a word or two. Consider this one, for example: “Little Jenny, arms waving wildly, chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.”

You may be wondering if the phrase “arms waving wildly” renders that sentence ungrammatical. After all, it lacks a preposition or conjunction to connect it to the rest of the sentence. That seemingly disjointed cluster of words, however, is a legitimate grammatical construction called an “absolute phrase.”

Some editors might be inclined to insert the preposition “with” and the possessive pronoun “her” in that sentence, to read “Little Jenny, with her arms waving wildly, chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.” That would be fine, but bear in mind that nothing is technically incorrect about the use of the absolute phrase “arms waving wildly.”

An absolute phrase consists of two essential components: most commonly, a noun and a present or past participle — a word formed from a verb. Participles on the own function as adjectives, as in “a dripping faucet” or “the exhausted workers.”

Here is another absolute phrase example: “Danny, his shirt crisply pressed, knocked at the door.” In condensed fashion, the absolute phrase tells you that Danny was wearing a shirt that had been crisply pressed.

Some absolute phrases include a modifier (adjective or adverb) or an object, although neither is required. In the absolute phrase within our example sentence about Jenny, “arms” is the noun, “waving” is the present participle, and “wildly” is an adverb describing how her arms were waving.

An absolute phrase also may contain a possessive pronoun “her.” The sentence could have read: “Little Jenny, her arms waving wildly, chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.” Inclusion of that possessive pronoun is optional. In any case, an absolute phrase cannot stand on its own, because it is not a complete sentence. “Her arms were waving wildly” is a sentence (because of the presence of the verb “were”), but “her arms waving wildly” is not.

An absolute phrase functions as a modifier, but rather than applying to one word in the sentence, it modifies an entire clause. In our example sentence, it describes appearance and motion — how Little Jenny chased the ice cream truck. Because an absolute phrase modifies an entire clause, placement within a sentence is variable. Our example sentence also could have read “Arms waving wildly, Little Jenny chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house” or “as the ice cream truck drove past Little Jenny’s house, she chased it, her arms waving wildly” — or even “Little Jenny chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house, her arms waving wildly.”

Notice that in each case, the absolute phrase is set apart from the rest of the sentence by one or more commas. That’s because it’s a parenthetical element; it adds information, but is not essential for understanding the basic sentence (“Little Jenny chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house”).

If you wish, you can stack two or more absolute phrases in succession — for example: “Little Jenny, arms waving wildly, shouting loudly, clutching her change purse, chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.”

Just because a structure is grammatically correct, you’re not obligated to use it. We are disinclined to use absolute phrases because they often are the metaphorical equivalent of a hastily built lean-to clinging to the side of a house. To us, many absolute phrases appear as afterthoughts, awkwardly propped into sentences. We prefer to use connective parts of speech — conjunctions and prepositions.

We would have written “Little Jenny, with her arms waving wildly, chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.” Or “With her arms waving wildly, Little Jenny chased the ice cream truck as it drove past her house.”

An estimated 5.5 million Americans across a broad range of ages have Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The disease takes its toll on caregivers, 35 percent of whom in a recent survey reported that their own health had worsened due to care responsibilities.

In a new book titled A Daughter’s Promise, author Fran Lewis chronicles her mother’s struggles in coming to terms with this degenerative disease . Fran’s mother, Ruth, kept a journal about her ordeals with the various stages of this debilitating and dehumanizing condition. Fran weaves her mother’s personal journal entries into the book, while describing her own difficulties in caring for a loved one whose actions lacked sense or clear, sound reasoning.

Says Fran of her mother, “Her outlook on life was remarkable, and although her mind began to wander, she never lost sight of who she was, her sense of humor, or her family. This is the story of someone whose courage went beyond what most people could endure, and whose never-dying zest for life kept her alive. I hope our story will help others in coping with this difficult and demanding disease.”

The titular promise Fran made to her mother was that she would never place her in a care facility. And she kept her promise to the bitter end. The book also contains lessons Fran learned from her experiences, as well as numerous tips for family members and caregivers of people afflicted with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Jon Land, a USA Today bestselling author, wrote: “Heartfelt and emotionally wrenching, A Daughter’s Promise is a story of life and love set against a metaphorical journey that rings with optimism against a backdrop of the impossible toll a disease like Alzheimer’s has on a family. Fran Lewis’s beautifully written tale spares not a single word in finding light amid a growing and pervasive darkness, even as it salvages hope from despair. This is Tuesdays with Morrie for a new generation, a brilliant depiction in fact of what Nicholas Sparks does so well in fiction.”

Brian Freeman, an Amazon bestselling author, wrote: “This memoir of Alzheimer’s is unflinching in its honesty. At times, it is so raw that you may want to look away — but don’t, because the pain of this story is outweighed by courage, devotion and love.”

Fran Lewis is the author of 13 books, including three children’s books. She has three master’s degrees, and a Ph.D. in supervision and administration. She worked in the New York City public schools as the reading and writing staff developer for 36 years, during which she also served as musical director for shows and ran the school’s newspaper. She is a member of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who Among America’s Executives. Now retired, Fran is a book reviewer and hosts a radio show in which she interviews New York Times and Indie Book Award winning authors.

Don F. wrote:

The grammar coach replies:

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