Question

Identify the underlined element in the following passage from the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Answer 1

The underlined phrase is this one:
"fog rolling down the river"

The correct answer is this one: "Absolute Phrase."  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.

Answer 2

The underlined phrase for this question is: "fog rolling down the river"

ANSWER: Absolute phrase

An absolute phrase acts as a modifier to a sentence. It is not connected by any conjunctions and it also cannot contain any finite verb (verbs in the past or present tense).

We can see that the underlined phrase meets all of the definition of an absolute phrase. Its verb, rolling, ends in -ing and is therefore a nonfinite verb. The phrase also modifies the entire sentence, adding information about the fog.