An absolute construction contains a subject unchanged from its full sentence form. Compare:
Les bras levés, il
s'approcha de moi.
(With arms up, he came near me.)
with:
En levant les
bras, il s'approcha de moi.
(Raising his arms, he came near me.)
The first construction is the absolute construction. Unlike English, French allows the absolute construction only if the subject is the same in the main clause or sometimes if the subject is clearly shown in both sentences. Therefore in: "His book now a bestseller, he felt happy," the absolute construction "His book now a bestseller" will have to be translated into French with a complete subordinate clause:
Maintenant que son livre est un
bestseller, il est heureux.
(Now that his book is a bestseller, he is happy.)
or:
Son livre étant un bestseller, il etait
heureux.
(His book having become a bestseller, he was happy.)
However, if an absolute construction is formed with a past participle, then the past participle can have a subject of its own and does not refer to the subject of the main clause:
Mes amis étant
partis, je commençais à étudier.
(My friends having left, I began to study.)
See Also: