Given that esse has no present active participle, absolute phrases can be constructed with [noun | pronoun] + noun or [noun | pronoun] + adjective.
Begin with a basic construction “with X ¦ being Y” e.g. Caesare duce: (with) Caesar (being) leader, and then, reword the phrase to a more fluent translation if it is appropriate to the context, for example:
[i] Caesare ¦ [ii] duce:
- With Caesar as leader, ..
- Because / since Caesar was / is leader, ...
- When Caesar was leader, …
- Caesar was leader and …
Remember that tense sequencing will still apply in translation:
Caesare duce, Gallia invāsa est. │ (with) Caesar (being) leader = when Caesar was leader, Gaul was invaded.
Caesare duce, Galliā invādētur. │ (with) Caesar (being) leader = because Caesar is leader, Gaul will be invaded.
Examples:
noun + noun
[i] fēminā [noun] + [ii] fūre [noun] │ [i] (with) the woman [ii] (being) a thief
[i] fēminīs [noun] + [ii] fūribus [noun] │ [i] (with) the women [ii] (being) thieves
[i] virō [noun] + [ii] fūre [noun], hominēs discessērunt │ [i] (with) the man [ii] (being) a thief, the people departed = since the man was a thief …
[i] virīs [noun] + [ii] fūribus [noun] hominēs conveniunt │[i] (with) the men [ii] (being) thieves, the people come together = since the men are thieves …
noun + adjective
[i] incendiō [noun] + magnō [adjective] │ [i] (with) the fire [ii] (being) large …
[i] cōnsule [noun] + [ii] novō [adjective] │ [i] (with) the consul [ii] (being) new
[i] duce [noun] + bonō [adjective], mīlitēs bene pugnant │ [i] (with) the commander [ii] (being) good, the soldiers fight well = since the commander is good …
[i] rēge [noun] + [ii] salvō [adjective] cīvēs fuērunt fēlīcissimī │ [i] (with) the king [ii] (being) safe, the citizens were very happy = since the king was safe …
Rēge salvō, cīvēs laetissimī sunt. │ Because the king is safe, the citizens are very happy.
