Reduced Relative Clauses

The man standing by the door is my uncle. (= who is standing)

Notice

  • The man standing by the door is my uncle.
  • The report written by the intern was excellent.
  • Students wishing to apply should email the office.
  • The car parked outside belongs to my neighbour.

Rule

We can reduce a relative clause by dropping the relative pronoun (who/which/that) and the verb ‘be’, leaving just the participle. Active meaning → present participle (standing, wishing). Passive meaning → past participle (written, parked).

Practice

  1. Reduce: ‘The people who are waiting outside are getting impatient.’
    Answer: The people waiting outside are getting impatient.
  2. Reduce: ‘The email that was sent yesterday contained an error.’
    Answer: The email sent yesterday contained an error.
  3. Reduce: ‘Anyone who wants extra help should stay after class.’
    Answer: Anyone wanting extra help should stay after class.
  4. Correct the error: ‘The window broken by the storm.’ (should be a full sentence)
    Answer: The window broken by the storm was replaced. / The window was broken by the storm. (A reduced relative clause alone is not a complete sentence — it needs a main verb.)

Connect

Practise reducing relative clauses accurately.

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CEFR: Reading — understand compact, efficiently written texts.

Azizul Hakim
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