Reduced Relative Clauses

Reduced Relative Clauses
Reduced relative clauses refer to the shortening of a relative clause which modifies
the subject of a sentence. Reduced relative clauses modify the subject and not the
object of a sentence.
Much like adjectives, relative clauses, also known as adjective clauses, modify
nouns.
• The man who works at Costco lives in Seattle.
• I gave a book, which was written by Hemingway, to Mary last week.
In above examples, "who works at Costco" modifies—or provides information
about—the "man" who is the subject of the sentence. In the second sentence, "which
was written by Hemingway" modifies the object "book." Using a reduced relative
clause we can reduce the first sentence to:
• The man working at Costco lives in Seattle.
The second example sentence cannot be reduced because the relative clause
"which was written by Hemingway" modifies an object of the verb "give."
Types of Reduced Relative Clauses

Relative clauses can also be reduced to shorter forms if the relative clause modifies
the subject of a sentence. Relative clause reduction refers to removing a relative
pronoun to reduce:
• An adjective/person who was happy: happy person
• An adjective phrase/man who was responsible for: man responsible for
• A prepositional phrase/boxes that are under the counter: boxes under the
counter
• A past participle/student that was elected president: student elected president
• A present participle/people who are working on the report: people working on
the report
Reduce to an Adjective
• Remove the relative pronoun.
• Remove the verb (usually "be," but also "seem," "appear," etc.).
• Place the adjective used in the relative clause before the modified noun.
Examples:
• The children who were happy played until nine in the evening. Reduced: The
happy children played until nine in the evening.
• The house, which was beautiful, was sold for $300,000. Reduced: The
beautiful house was sold for $300,000.
Reduce to an Adjective Phrase
• Remove the verb (usually "be," but also "seem," "appear," etc.).
• Place the adjective phrase after the modified noun.
Examples:
• The product, which seemed perfect in many ways, failed to succeed in the
market. Reduced: The product, perfect in many ways, failed to succeed in the
market.
• The boy who was pleased by his grades went out with his friends to celebrate.
Reduced: The boy, pleased by his grades, went out with his friends to
celebrate.
Reduce to a Prepositional Phrase

• Remove the verb "be."
• Place the prepositional phrase after the modified noun.
Examples:
• The box, which was on the table, was made in Italy. Reduced: The box on
the table was made in Italy.
• The woman who was at the meeting spoke about business in Europe.
Reduced: The woman at the meeting spoke about business in Europe.
Reduce to a Past Participle

• Place the past participle before the modified noun.
Examples:
• The desk, which was stained, was antique. Reduced: The stained desk was
antique.
• The man who was elected was very popular. Reduced: The elected man was
very popular.
Reduce to a Past Participle Phrase

• Place the past participle phrase after the modified noun.
Examples:
• The car, which was purchased in Seattle, was a vintage Mustang. Reduced:
The car purchased in Seattle was a vintage Mustang.
• The elephant, which was born in captivity, was set free. Reduced: The
elephant born in captivity was set free.
Reduce to a Present Participle

• Place the present participle phrase after the modified noun.
Examples:
• The professor who is teaching mathematics will leave the university.
Reduced: The professor teaching mathematics will leave the university.
• The dog that is lying on the floor won't get up. Reduced: The dog lying on the
floor won't get up.
Some action verbs reduce to the present participle ("-ing" form) especially when
the present tense is used:
• Change the verb to the present participle form.
• Place the present participle phrase after the modified noun.
Examples:
• The man who lives near my home walks to work every day. Reduced: The
man living near my home walks to work every day.
• The girl who attends my school lives at the end of the street.
Reduced: The girl attending my school lives at the end of the street.
REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES
Academic English prefers reduced relative clauses. This relative clause should be reduced to either its
past or present participle, or even deleted if the main verb is the verb "to be".
PAST PARTICIPLE (-ed)

Full Relative Clause (Passive voice):
Netscape allows administrators to implement programs WHICH ARE BASED on Java.
Reduced Relative Clause (Better):
Netscape allows administrators to implement programs BASED on Java.
PRESENT PARTICIPLE (-ing)

Full Relative Clause (Active voice):
This study investigates the factors WHICH INFLUENCE the lifetime of telecommunication
technology standards.
This study investigates the factors INFLUENCING the lifetime of telecommunication technology
standards.
DELETION OF VERB "to be"

Relative Clause (verb "to be"):
The atmospheric aerosols THAT ARE IN heavily polluted areas have the potential to accelerate
global warming.
The atmospheric aerosols Ø IN heavily polluted areas have the potential to accelerate global
warming.
STRATEGY FOR AVOIDING ENDING WITH A VERB

See also Avoid ending with a verb.
End Verb (Bad):

Java is now the programming language WHICH developers in North America USE most.
Java is now the programming language USED most BY developers in North America.
Participle clauses
Do you know how to use participle clauses to say information in a more economical
way? Look at these examples to see how participle clauses are used.
Looked after carefully, these boots will last for many years.
Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I avoided the question.
Having lived through difficult times together, they were very close friends.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Grammar explanation
Participle clauses enable us to say information in a more economical way. They are
formed using present participles (going, reading, seeing, walking, etc.), past
participles (gone, read, seen, walked, etc.) or perfect participles (having gone,
having read, having seen, having walked, etc.).
We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause
have the same subject. For example,
Waiting for Ellie, I made some tea. (While I was waiting for Ellie, I made some tea.)
Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in
the main clause.
Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary, academic
or journalistic style.
Present participle clauses

Here are some common ways we use present participle clauses. Note that present
participles have a similar meaning to active verbs.
• To give the result of an action

The bomb exploded, destroying the building.
• To give the reason for an action
Knowing she loved reading, Richard bought her a book.
• To talk about an action that happened at the same time as another action
Standing in the queue, I realised I didn't have any money.
• To add information about the subject of the main clause
Starting in the new year, the new policy bans cars in the city centre.
Past participle clauses

Here are some common ways that we use past participle clauses. Note that past
participles normally have a passive meaning.
• With a similar meaning to an if condition

Used in this way, participles can make your writing more concise. (If you use
participles in this way, … )
• To give the reason for an action
Worried by the news, she called the hospital.
• To add information about the subject of the main clause
Filled with pride, he walked towards the stage.
Perfect participle clauses
Perfect participle clauses show that the action they describe was finished before the
action in the main clause. Perfect participles can be structured to make an active or
passive meaning.
Having got dressed, he slowly went downstairs.

Having finished their training, they will be fully qualified doctors.
Having been made redundant, she started looking for a new job.
Participle clauses after conjunctions and prepositions

It is also common for participle clauses, especially with -ing, to follow conjunctions
and prepositions such as before, after, instead of, on, since, when, while and in spite
of.
Before cooking, you should wash your hands.

Instead of complaining about it, they should try doing something positive.
On arriving at the hotel, he went to get changed.
While packing her things, she thought about the last two years.
In spite of having read the instructions twice, I still couldn’t understand how to use it

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Reduced Relative Clauses

Types of Reduced Relative Clauses

Reduce to a Prepositional Phrase

Reduce to a Past Participle

Reduce to a Past Participle Phrase

Reduce to a Present Participle

PAST PARTICIPLE (-ed)

PRESENT PARTICIPLE (-ing)

DELETION OF VERB "to be"

STRATEGY FOR AVOIDING ENDING WITH A VERB

End Verb (Bad):

Present participle clauses

• To give the result of an action

Past participle clauses

• With a similar meaning to an if condition

Having got dressed, he slowly went downstairs.

Participle clauses after conjunctions and prepositions

Before cooking, you should wash your hands.

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