Participle I as Adverbial Modifier

Absolute Nominative Constructions

So young Harcourt stood still, with his head down.

Absolute constructions consist of two elements, the first is usually a noun, the second element may be expressed by a participle (Participle I, Participle II), an adjective, a prepositional phrase or.an adverb. Absolute constructions are separated from the rest of.the sentence by a comma or a semicolon. An absolute construction may be introduced by the preposition with.

Absolute constructions are often used in the function of an adverbial.modifier of attending circumstances. In rendering this construction into Russian a coordinate clause, a prepositional phrase or деепричастный оборот is used.

The boys sat gazing into the fire, their minds wandering elsewhere.	Мальчики сидели и смотрели 'в огонь, а их мысли витали где-то далеко.
She looked at me all the time, her eyes bright with happiness.	Она все время смотрела на меня, глаза ее сияли счастьем.
The child lay on the bed, his eyes shut.	Ребенок лежал на постели с закрытыми глазами.
He came up to us, his hat still in his hand.	Он подошел к нам, все еще держа шляпу в руках.
This thought broke her down and she wandered away with tears rolling down her cheeks.	Эта мысль сломила ее, и она медленно пошла прочь: слезы ручьями текли у нее по щекам.

Absolute constructions are typical of literary style where their use is quite extensive. But they are hardly ever used in spoken English..

2. There's not a...

There's not a breath of air in here.

Negation expressed by the particle not with nouns in the singular may serve as a means of emphasis. The idea of oneness (единичность), always implied by the indefinite article, becomes in this case quite prominent, the whole structure meaning not a single one.

Compare the following sentences:

There is no shop (there are no shops) in this street.	На этой улице нет магазина (нет магазинов).
There's not a shop in this street and we have to walk a long way to buy our groceries.	... ни единого магазина, и нам приходится далеко ходить за продуктами.

... she said, smiling at him brightly and not noticing the uneasiness in his face.

Participle I used as an adverbial modifier often expresses a second action accompanying the action expressed by the predicative verb. As a rule the participle follows the predicate group and is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

Manuel went in, carrying his suit-case.	Мануэль, с чемоданом в руке, вошел в дом.
He looked at his father, listening with a kind of painful desperation.	Он смотрел на отца, слушая его с каким-то болезненным отчаянием.

Participle I placed at the head of the sentence may acquire causa-, tive meaning (причинное значение).

Seeing their embarrassment, he changed the subject.	Видя их замешательство, он сменил тему разговора.
Not finding what he wanted, he looked slowly about the room.	Не находя того, что ему было нужно, он медленно осмотрел комнату.

The adverbial modifier may also be expressed by a gerund. Used with the preposition without the gerund serves to show that an action which may logically be expected to accompany the action of the predicate verb does not take place.

They entered the house without Они вошли в дом, не постучав, knocking.

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