There are many aspects to consider when translating French texts into Swedish. The purpose of the present study is to examine French non-finite constructions, namely participle and infinitive phrases, and to compare them with their Swedish translations. Thus, the method is contrastive. The analysis is based on 213 phrases collected from two non-literary French texts – one economical text and one medical text – and their Swedish translations. The different interpretations have been divided into categories to study the transpositions that have been made, i.e. in what way the two languages differ from each other in this context.

The structural differences but also similarities have been illustrated and, to a certain degree, it has been found, according to the hypothesis, that the examined French non-finite constructions often correspond to Swedish main or subordinate clauses, or even other constructions, such as other phrases. On the other hand, it has also been noted that the French infinitive phrase, in most cases, has been translated by an infinitive phrase, which means that no transposition has been made.

The Swedish interpretations illustrated in this study are not to be regarded as proof of the occurrence of structural differences and similarities ; the intention is to show how the French constructions in question can be translated into Swedish, and to demonstrate certain tendencies of the two languages respectively.