With technology advancing rapidly since the advent of the computer, today's video games are preferable to those that were produced two decades ago.
What is the meaning of “with + noun + participle” phrase? I have seen these sometimes and interpreted these as “when ~” because I have seen in texts that these phrases mean circumstances. In the above sentence, however, I don’t understand with-phrase since it is followed by since-phrase. So my question is the meaning of “with + noun + participle” phrase, especially in the sentence above.
Best Answer
"With technology advancing rapidly" is a prepositional phrase, describing the context and cause of the main clause of the sentence. (See definition 7.2 and 7.3 here: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/with).
"Since the advent of the computer" is also a prepositional phrase, describing the rapid advance of technology, specifically the start point of the rapid advancement.
This style of leading "with" prepositional phrase is often used to mean "because of ~"; however, I would interpret it more generally as "In the context of noun performing the present participle, the main clause of the sentence occurs". This context could be the cause of main clause, as in your example, or the circumstances in which the main clause occurred, or how the main clause occurred.