How do I translate an ablative absolute construction? e.g. his rebus factis

Ablative absolutes are notoriously tricky to translate, mainly because there isn't really an equivalent construction in English. These phrases are made up of a noun and a participle, both in the ablative case. You can often translate them literally as 'with NOUN having been VERB'.e.g. his rebus factis ..... with these things having been doneThis literal translation is absolutely fine for GCSE level. However, if you want to push yourself a bit further, you can aim for a really smooth translation. e.g. his rebus factis .... when these things had been done (NB 'having' changes to 'had')A key point to note about ablative absolutes is that they most often convey prior action. If you use words like 'when' or 'once', you can ensure that you convey your understanding of this to the examiner.