Absolute phrase with preposition

Question

I came across this sentence but can't understand the grammatical structure.

Despite there being a blizzard in the area, business remained open as usual.

In the phrase "Despite there being a blizzard," I can tell "there being" is an absolute phrase. Then why "despite" is used? Can an absolute phrase function as a noun phrase? Or is "there being" not an absolute phrase but a gerund? But if it is a gerund, that doesn't make sense in terms of grammatical structure.

Why and how "despite" can be used with an absolute phrase?

Answer 1

Participle phrases seek to modify something in the main sentence. But there are situations the main sentence doesn't contain elements to modify. Here in lies the need for an absolute phrase. As the name suggests, it is self contained. An Absolute phrase or nominative absolute cantains a moun or pronoun/a participle/related modifier. It may even take a 'dummy it' or 'introductory there'. It is by nature parenthetical, set off from the rest of the sentence by comma(s) providing additional information or modifying​ the sentence as a whole. Almost a clause, an absolute phrase may contain any sentence element except a finite verb.

Let us analyze our example with and without the preposition "despite" meaning ' in spite of' or 'not withstanding'

• Despite there being a blizzard in the area, business remained open as usual.

If we do away with "despite" the absolute phrase gives a different meaning to what is intended. Please note that absolute phrases can take the form of a noun phrase, an adjective phrase or prepositional phrase, And the prepositioal phrase is called from the standard of construction, not from functionality. It can be anything,here an adverb modifying the whole sentence that follows.

Answer 2

Let me provide an alternative answer that accords with the treatment in CGEL.

In the sentence,

[1] Despite there being a blizzard in the area, business remained open as usual.

the part

[2] despite there being a blizzard in the area

is called an adjunct of concession (CGEL, pp. 734–736).

Concessive adjuncts have the form of PPs, mainly headed by the items in [6i], or adverbs, as in [6ii]:

[6]   i  although       though         despite   in spite   notwithstanding   albeit
       ii  nevertheless  nonetheless  still           yet

In particular, we have the following:

Despite, in spite, notwithstanding, for, albeit

[9]   i  [In spite of/Despite the recession,] travel agents seem to be doing well.
       ii  [In spite of/Despite having grown up in Paris,] Sonia doesn't speak French.
      iii  [Notwithstanding Ed's reservations,] the agreement is the best I could hope for.
      iv  [For all our good intentions,] the meeting soon broke up in acrimony.
       v  The book covers the whole field, [albeit somewhat superficially].

Despite takes an NP complement, in spite a PP with of + NP, and in either case a gerund-participial can replace the NP. Notwithstanding usually takes an NP complement (which can precede the head: see Ch. 7, §4.2). In its concessive use, for takes an NP complement beginning with all. Albeit is restricted to formal style, and takes only a verbless clause as complement.

The relevant example is [9] ii. It is almost exactly like [1] in that the complement of despite is a gerund-participial clause. One slight difference is that the gerund-participial clause

[10] there being a blizzard in the area

is also an existential clause (CGEL, pp. 1390–1392). Therefore, in [10], there is the subject, and the NP a blizzard in the area is a displaced subject.