Reduced relative clauses omit the relative pronoun and verb “be” to make sentences more concise. They can be used after prepositions, with passive verbs, and with progressive verbs, but not after adjectives or nouns.
A reduced relative clause is a relative clause with the relative pronoun and the verb “be” omitted. For example, the sentence “the laptop that’s on the desk” can be simplified to “the laptop on the desk” to make the relative clause a reduced relative clause. The relative clause can be reduced when the verb is progressive or passive and when it is followed by a prepositional phrase. It can also be shortened if a new subject and verb follows. Writers and speakers cannot reduce the clause if it is followed by an adjective or a noun.
Writers or speakers can reduce a relative clause if it follows a preposition such as “in” or “on.” For example, the sentence “the books that are on the shelf” contains a relative clause followed by the preposition “on”. This means that the sentence can be stated with a reduced relative clause by removing the relative pronoun “that” and the conjugation of the verb to be “are”. The phrase would then become “the books on the shelf”. Reducing the clause makes the sentence more succinct and simple without losing meaning.
Grammatically correct reduction of a relative clause can also occur when the clause is followed by a passive verb. Passive verbs are verbs in which the object is acted upon by the subject, as opposed to the subject acting upon the object. For example, the sentence “the ball that the man kicked was orange” can be simplified by using a reduced relative sentence. The shortened version of the sentence reads “the ball the man kicked was orange”.
English speakers may also use an abridged relative clause if the verb following the clause is progressive, such as the verb “shopping” or “arguing.” Progressive verbs end in “ing” and are in progress, in the present continuous. For example, the sentence related to the sentence “the man who is arguing is my friend” can be shortened. The reduction involves the removal of the relative pronoun “who” and of the verb to be “is”, as always. “The man who argues is my friend” is the reduced relative clause version of the example.
Some circumstances are not suitable for a reduced relative clause, such as those followed by an adjective or a noun. For example, the sentence “The book that is green is mine” cannot be simplified because the related clause “that is” is followed by the adjective “green”. The incorrect and abridged version of the relative sentence of the sentence would be “the green book is mine”. A sentence such as “the woman who is a nurse is working hard” cannot be simplified because the relative sentence is followed by a noun. The incorrect version of the sentence would be “the woman a nurse is working hard at”.
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