Detached (loose) parts of the sentence

Detached parts of the sentence are those secondary parts which assume a certain grammatical and semantic independence. This phenomenon is due to their loose connection with the words they modify.

Detached (loose) parts of the sentence
Detached adverbial modifier (of atten. circ.)	He lit a pipe, carefully, because the enemy was close. The train coming in a minute later, the two brothers parted. He came in, with a large parcel under his arm.
Detached attribute	There was a star-like quality about Judice, radiant and unreachable. Dumb with amazement, Mr. Gradgrind crossed to the spot where his family was thus disgraced.
Detached object	She does not change – except her hair. Huckleberry Finn was there, with his dead cat.

Ex. 30. Point out what parts are detached and by what they are expressed.

1. Now their laughter joined together, seized each other and held close, harmoniously, intertwined through each other’s fabric and substance. 2. Huckleberry Finn was there, with his dead cat. 3. We reached the station, with only a minute or two to spare. 4. Blind and almost senseless, like a bird caught in a snare, he still heard the sharp slam of the door. 5. As he strode along he was conscious, within himself, of a deep, pervading sense of power. 6. With his hands by his sides, he strolled very slowly and inconspicuously, down the border. 7. One summer, during a brief vacation at Knocke, his visit had come to the notice of Harrington Brande. 8. We are very poor, señor, with many mouths to feed, and these fish would make a good meal for us. 9. Unbelievingly, his eyes fixed, lips tightly compressed, Brande stared at the advancing youth. 10. He remembered her brave and hardy, with a small-boned eager face, enriched with weather and living. 11. The girls had met and were strolling, arm in arm, through the rose arbor. 12. Stout, middle-aged, full of energy, clad in a grease-stained dark blue dress. she bustled backwards and forwards from the kitchen to the dining room. 13. She had become very drab and unattractive, with all the hard work, no doubt. 14. But, for all that, they had a very pleasant walk.

The Independent elements of the sentence

The independent elements of the sentence are words and word-groups which are not grammatically dependent on any part of the sentence.

The independent elements of the sentence
Interjections (ah, oh, hurrah, eh, hallo, goodness gracious, good heavens)	Oh, if I only knew what a dreadful thing it is to be clean, I’d never come. “Oh gracious me! That innocent Toots,” returned Susan hysterically.
Direct address	Good morning, sweet child. Don’t be tiresome. Marcellus!
Parenthesis a) modal words (indeed, certainly, assuredly, decidedly, in fact, truly, naturally, surely, actually, possibly, perhaps, evidently, obviously, maybe)	Evidently, he was not a man, he must be some other kind of animal. Luckily, poor dear Roger had been spared this dreadful anxiety.
b) adverbs (firstly, secondly, finally, thus, consequently, then, anyway, moreover, besides, still, yet, nevertheless, otherwise, notwithstanding, therefore)	He mightn’t like it. Besides, uncle Soames wants to get back, I suppose. He was losing money. Furthermore, he had sweated to make the truck comfortable for them.
c) prepositional phrases (in a word, in truth, in my opinion, by and by, on the one hand, on the contrary, at least)	Everybody has his own problem. Mine is particularly worthless, for instance.
d) infinitive and participial phrases (to be sure, to tell the truth, to begin with, generally speaking, strictly speaking)	Sarah, my dear, comparatively speaking, you’re safe. To tell the truth, I don’t want to go there.

Ex. 31. Point out all the independent elements and say by what they are expressed.

1. In the morning, however, there was a comforting excitement in leaving the train. 2. May be, after all, there was something in that wild idea of Albertine’s. 3. They gave him, in fact, a pleasant feeling of vicarious fatherhood. 4. Nicholas, unfortunately, had passed an unquiet night. 5. Nevertheless, despite this reasoning there remained in the Consul’s breast that strange sense of jealousy. 6. How fortunate to have such a reliable couple in the house. Naturally, he counted on the Burtons as an official standby. 7. I am a human being, señor, and must take advantage of my opportunities. Frankly, I am accustomed to good wine. 8. He was surprised, evidently, to Sally so much at home and bustling about like that. 9. She was quite unconcerned, as a matter of fact, about being left alone in the camp. 10. Perhaps her colonial upbringing had something to do with it. 11. It was still too early for his ride, but he did not go back to bed, he wasn’t deeply worried, to be sure, but, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.