Prolegomena

We begin by with some definitions. An "ablative absolute" is a participial phrase in which the participle in the phrase modifies a noun (or pronoun) in the same phrase. That being the case, the phrase is said to be "absolute," because the participle does not modify some noun or pronoun outside of the phrase. As usual, some examples will make all this clear.

Routed in the battle, Brutus' troops fled from the field.

"Routed" is a perfect passive participle which modifies "troops," the subject of the sentence.

 

The troops having been routed, Brutus despaired and sought to kill himself.

"Having been routed" is likewise a perfect passive participle, but here it modifies the "troops," and together the words form an absolute phrase, with no grammatical connection to any word in the main clause.

Similar examples can be adduced using a present active participle:

Opening the door, I entered the room.

The door being open, I entered the room.

In the first example, the participle "opening" modifies the subject of the sentence; in the second, the participial phrase ("being" = present active) is a self-contained (i.e. absolute) grammatical unit. You will notice that the absolute phrases lend a certain detachment, even awkwardness, to their sentences; for that reason they are generally avoided where an "organic" participial phrase can be employed.

Latin usage of ablative absolute

Another example will make clear how an idea conveyed by an "organic" participial phrase can also be expressed using an absolute participial phrase.

Having thrown aside his shield, Quintus took to his heels.

"Having thrown aside," a perfect active participle, modifies "Quintus," subject of the sentence.

The shield having been thrown aside, Quintus took to his heels.

Here the participle has become perfect passive, and the phrase has become absolute; but what's lost in the change is an explicit declaration that Quintus was the one who tossed his shield away, most unheroically, so he could run away.

"So what?" you ask? The significance of these examples will become clearer with a brief reminder of the Latin participial system. Let us use the verb "throw aside" (abicio, abicere, abieci, abiectum)as an example:

	Active	Passive
Present	abiciens	--
Perfect	--	abiectus, -a, -um
Future	abiecturus, -a, -um	--

Suppose you're a Roman, and you're trying to compose the sentence "Having thrown aside his shield, Quintus took to his heels" in Latin. Good luck! You will discover that, thanks to its mangled participial system, you cannot translate "having thrown aside" directly into Latin. But, if you convert that phrase into an absolute phrase (i.e. "the shield having been thrown aside"), then it's no problem:

scuto abiecto, Quintus fugit.

Such absolute phrases are put into the ablative case, and are called "ablative absolute." They are exceedingly common, particularly with the perfect passive participle. You find them with the present active participle as well:

Quinto fugiente, Pompeius fortiter adhuc pugnabat.

With Quintus fleeing, Pompeius still kept fighting bravely.

Translation strategies

You can use a pretty straightforward formula for translating ablatives absolute; it will yield awkward English, but an accurate rendering of what the Latin is saying.

For ablative absolute with perfect passive participle:

"x having been y'd"

(x = ablative noun/pronoun; y = English past participle of Latin verb), e.g. scuto abiecto = "the shield having been thrown aside"

For ablative absolute with present active participle:

"with x y-ing"

(x = ablative noun/pronoun; y = Latin participle), e.g. Quinto fugiente = "With Quintus flee-ing"

You may have guessed by now that these ablatives absolute tend to be used where, in English, we would be more inclined to use subordinate clauses. In fact, once you get comfortable with this construction, you may be able to replace the Latin participial phrase with an English clause. Alternatively, you may, where the participle is perfect passive, retain the participle in English but replace the passive, absolute phrase with an active, organic phrase. Hence:

Latin: scuto abiecto, Quintus fugit.

Literal translation (maintains absolute participial phrase):

"The shield having been thrown aside, Quintus took to his heels."

Translation converting Latin passive participle to active English participle:

"Having thrown aside his shield, Quintus took to his heels."

Translation transposing Latin participial phrase into English subordinate clause:

"After he had thrown aside his shield, Quintus took to his heels."

When the ablative absolute uses a present active participle, your options are to maintain the absolute phrase, or to convert it into a subordinate clause:

Latin: Quinto fugiente, Pompeius fortiter adhuc pugnabat.

Translation maintaining absolute participial phrase:

"With Quintus fleeing, Pompeius still kept fighting bravely."

Translation converting participial phrase to subordinate clause:

"While Quintus was fleeing, Pompeius still kept fighting bravely."

Significance of tenses of participles in ablative absolute

The tenses of the participles in ablative absolute--as is true of all participles--is relative to that of the main verb. Present participles indicate an action happening simultaneously with that of the main verb; perfect participles indicate an action already completed by the time the action of the main verb occurs (i.e. the participial action is prior to that of the main verb). For that reason, if you choose to be fancy and turn the phrase into a clause, you should choose "after" as your subordinating conjunction if the participle is perfect passive; if the participle is present active, use "while" (which indicates simultaneity of action with the main verb.)

Remember that reflexive pronouns (sui, sibi, se, se) and possesive adjectives (suus, sua, suum) used within indirect commands refer to the subject of the main clause.