XI. Independent Elements of the Sentence

X. The Apposition

E.g. Happy and carefree,the children ran down the hill.

Close attributes,

IX. The Attribute

Adverbial modifiers of exception,

e.g. He had no choice but to obey the orders.

Words in this function modify nouns (and sometimes pro-
nouns) giving them some kind of characteristic.

Attributes may be expressed by an adjective, a pronoun, a
noun in the genitive or common case, a noun with a preposition,
an infinitive, an ing-form, a participle and, occasionally, an ad-
verb.

Depending on the closeness of the syntactic ties between the
attribute and its noun, we distinguish close and loose attributes.
Close attributes form a tight sense unit with their nouns. Loose
attributes are less tightly connected with their nouns. Adding
more information to or explaining what is being said in the sen-
tence, they are regarded as a more independent member of the
sentence and, hence, often separated by a comma from the rest of
the sentence.

e.g. A large cat jumped down the window seat.
They gave each child a big apple.
I'd like another cup of tea.
I borrowed two pounds from Jane's brother.
I saw by their faces that they had learned something new.
It was an act of despair on her part.
She admired his way of doing things.

He is not a man to rely on.

The clouds were lit by the setting sun.

She saw the lighted windows of the cottage.

It was a pleasure to listen to him.

It was no use talking to her.

The then headmaster introduced the rule.

2) Loose attributes,

You behave like a schoolboy afraid of his teacher.

Painted green, the house was almost invisible on the forest-
covered hill.

Craig took the baby out of the pram and lifted it high in the
air. The baby, trying to tug at his moustache, crowed glee-
fully.

Words in this function modify nouns, explaining and spec-
ifying their meaning by giving them another name.
Appositions are usually expressed by nouns.

e.g. Ann, the daughter of the landlady, was always ready to baby-
sit for us.

I asked Miss Grey, a neighbour and an old friend of mine, to
dinner.

The Glory, a British steamship, was to arrive on Monday
morning.

Independent elements of the sentence are not directly connect-
ed with any part of the sentence — they express the speaker's at-
titude to or comment on what is being said in the sentence as a
whole. In this function we usually find parenthetic expressions,
viewpoint, attitudinal and formulaic adverbs.

e.g. To tell the truth, I didn't like her at first.
It isn't quite correct, strictly speaking.
She will probably tell you about it herself.
It was a rainy day but fortunately it was not cold.

Historically, the king's death was a minor event, but it be-
came widely known owing to its tragic circumstances.
Will you kindly keep me informed?

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