KOÇ UNIVERSITY – ELC SUMMER 2024

UPPER INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR

REDUCED ADJECTIVE CLAUSES REVISION

How can we reduce relative clauses?

1. By omitting the relative pronoun and verb “be”

You can omit the relative pronoun and the verb “be” to reduce the relative clause. Then, the noun is
followed by another noun/noun phrase, adjective or an adjective phrase.

My brother, who is a Millennial, likes a fast-paced environment.

My brother, a Millennial, likes a fast-paced environment.

People, who are unhappy with the amount of spam they receive, should write to their lawmakers.

People, unhappy with the amount of spam they receive, should write to their lawmakers.

You can also omit the relative pronoun and the verb “be” when they are followed by a prepositional phrase
in “defining relative clauses”.

The books that are on the table are mine.

The books on the table are mine.

An adjective can come before the prepositional phrase in a reduced relative clause.

Young workers who are low in self-esteem are unusual

Young workers low in self-esteem are unusual

Practice

I. Re-write the sentences by reducing the adjective clauses.

1. People who are at JP Corporation represents every generation.
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2. People who are good with technology have an advantage here.
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3. Workers who are familiar with social networking will be able to use these skills here.
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4. Employees who are skilful at multitasking will enjoy our fast-paced environment.
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5. There are about 11 million items that are listed on Amazon.
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II. Combine the sentences using reduced relative clauses.

1. Employees are high in self-esteem. They do well here.

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2. People are interested in advancement. They will find it here.
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3. All the students are in our training programs. They appreciate learning new skills.

Blass, Laurie, Susan Iannuzzi, et al. Grammar and Beyond 3 (2012), Cambridge University Press
Elbaum, Sandra, Grammar in Context (2005), Thomson Heinle
Foley, Mark & Diane Hall. My Grammar Lab Advanced(2012), Pearson.
https://www.grammarwiz.com/reduced-relative-clauses.html
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 KOÇ UNIVERSITY – ELC SUMMER 2024
UPPER INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR

____________________________________________________
4. People are accustomed to a dynamic environment. They will be happy here.
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5. Students are at this school. They tend to have a “can-do” attitude.
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2. By using participles

A. We use present participles (verb -ing) to reduce adjective clauses when describing a continuing action or
situation regardless of the tense. We use the present participle of the main verb and the sentence with the
relative clause should be an active sentence. We can only use participles in that way when the subject of
the main clause and the relative clauses are the same.

She is a student who is conducting research on the rural crisis in England

She is a student conducting research on the rural crisis in England.

The children who sat in the fancy restaurant found it difficult to behave.
The children sitting in the fancy restaurant found it difficult to behave.

The bridge which connects the Asian and European parts of the city was built in 1977.
The bridge connecting the Asian and European parts of the city was built in 1977.

The passengers who were talking loudly were warned by the cabin crew.
The passengers talking loudly were warned by the cabin crew.

This is the man who has been stealing vegetables from our garden.
This is the man stealing vegetables from our garden.

They were our neighbours who had settled in the district before we came.
They were our neighbours settling in the district before we came

Practice:
I. Rewrite the sentences by reducing the adjective clauses.
1. Do you know the woman who is talking to Tom?
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2. I live in a pleasant room which overlooks the beautiful garden.
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3. I was woken up by the doorbell which was ringing incessantly.
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4. A few days after the interview, I received a letter which was offered me the job.
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5. Sally had a boyfriend who had been working in a bank in London.
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6. The people that did not exercise every day lost the least weight.
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7. We bought a Victorian terraced home which cost £1,300,000!
______________________________________________________
Blass, Laurie, Susan Iannuzzi, et al. Grammar and Beyond 3 (2012), Cambridge University Press
Elbaum, Sandra, Grammar in Context (2005), Thomson Heinle
Foley, Mark & Diane Hall. My Grammar Lab Advanced(2012), Pearson.
https://www.grammarwiz.com/reduced-relative-clauses.html
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 KOÇ UNIVERSITY – ELC SUMMER 2024
UPPER INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR

II. Combine the sentences using reduced relative clauses.

1. Ian has got a brother. He works in a bank in London. He has got a sister. She studies economics at
university in Manchester.
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2. When I entered the room it was empty except for a young man. He was sitting by the window and
watching the falling rain.
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3. People worked there. They got a raise in their salaries last year.
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4. The girl has asked a question. The girl is very clever.
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5. This is the man. He has been stealing vegetables from our garden.
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B. We use past participles (V3) to reduce an adjective clause which is formed in passive.

The past participle in a reduced relative clause can occur if the preceding noun is the object of the participle

They haven’t identified the body which was found in the Thames.
They haven’t identified the body found in the Thames.

The college, which had been founded in the nineteenth century, became a university in the 1930s.
The college, founded in the nineteenth century, became a university in the 1930s.

They are now calling the man who hasn’t been informed about the accident.
They are now calling the man not informed about the accident.
(!) If it is in the passive voice but is a continuous tense verb (present or past), then you delete the connecting
word and 'to be', leaving it with 'being + past participle'. You then have a continuous passive participle
phrase.

The building, which is being built by Kingston Developers, should be completed by May
The building, being built by Kingston Developers, should be completed by May.

Practice:

I. Rewrite the sentences by using the reduced adjective clauses.

1. A lot of people who are invited to the party cannot come.
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2. Somebody who is called jack phoned you while you were out.
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3. There was a tree which was blown down in the storm last night.
________________________________________________________
4. The palace which have been being renovated is now open to visitors.
_______________________________________________________

Blass, Laurie, Susan Iannuzzi, et al. Grammar and Beyond 3 (2012), Cambridge University Press
Elbaum, Sandra, Grammar in Context (2005), Thomson Heinle
Foley, Mark & Diane Hall. My Grammar Lab Advanced(2012), Pearson.
https://www.grammarwiz.com/reduced-relative-clauses.html
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 KOÇ UNIVERSITY – ELC SUMMER 2024
UPPER INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR

5. She did thing which were not expected of her.

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6. The new Town Hall, which has been designed by TMC Architects Ltd, is expected to receive several awards.
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7. Romeo and Juliet, which was first published in 1597, has become one of Shakespeare's most popular
plays.
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8. Martina was the only one who had not been informed about the room change.
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II. Combine the sentences using reduced relative clause with the past participle.
1. The first modern computer was called ENIAC. It took up a lot of space.
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2. They send emails today. One-half of all the email is spam.
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3. They had sent the employee to Indonesia. He came back to his country years later.
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4. Personal computers were introduced in the 1970’s. They were much smaller and faster than the previous
computers.
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5. Windows was introduced by Bill Gates. It has been used in almost all personal computers.
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3. By using infinitive clauses

We can replace the adjective clauses by using “to”+ infinitive. A “to -infinitive clause” can replace a defining
relative clause after ordinal numbers ( the first, the second etc.), after superlatives ( the best, the most
beautiful etc.) and after next, last and only.

We can replace relative clauses with “to”+infinitive regardless of the tense.

Ethan is usually the last person who understands the joke.

Ethan is usually the last person to understand the joke.

The first person who spoke at the conference was an expert on marine mammals.
The first person to speak at the conference was an expert on marine mammals.

She was the only student who got a scholarship from the university.
She was the only student to get a scholarship from the university.

Passive infinitives are also possible:

His was the last composition which was marked.

His was the last composition to be marked.
Practice:

Rewrite the sentences by using infinitive clauses.

1. Neil Armstrong was the first person who landed on the moon.
_________________________________________________________

Blass, Laurie, Susan Iannuzzi, et al. Grammar and Beyond 3 (2012), Cambridge University Press
Elbaum, Sandra, Grammar in Context (2005), Thomson Heinle
Foley, Mark & Diane Hall. My Grammar Lab Advanced(2012), Pearson.
https://www.grammarwiz.com/reduced-relative-clauses.html
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 KOÇ UNIVERSITY – ELC SUMMER 2024
UPPER INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR

2. The last person who leaves should turn off the light.
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3. Mike was the only one who helped me.
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4. The youngest person that entered the programme was just fourteen.
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5. Linda is the only one who will stay for the whole performance.
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6. The window seat is usually the first one which is taken.
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7. Mr. Jacobs will be the only one who is in charge of the office during the absence of the manager.
_______________________________________________________________

4. By using adjectives and adjective phrases before the defined noun.

Adjectives
If the relative clause has only an adjective and the verb to be within it, then the adjective can be placed
before the noun, and the relative pronoun (and verb 'to be') can be deleted:

The boy who is the oldest won the race.

The oldest boy won the race.

Adjective Phrases
If there is a verb other than the verb to be (usually sense verbs such as smell, look, feel, sound etc.), then
we reduce it to an adjective phrase: adjective + verb+ing

I played the song that sounded the best.

I played the best sounding song.

He always wears clothes that look expensive.

He always wears expensive looking clothes.

Practice:

Rewrite the sentences by using adjectives and adjective phrases.

1. I bought the dress which looked the best.
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2. The egg, which smelled foul, couldn’t be eaten.
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3. He put forward an argument which was totally unscientific.
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4. She didn’t use the tools which were dangerous.
____________________________________________
5. You should delete emails which are commercial.
____________________________________________
6. She ignored the suggestion which sounded strange.
____________________________________________
Blass, Laurie, Susan Iannuzzi, et al. Grammar and Beyond 3 (2012), Cambridge University Press
Elbaum, Sandra, Grammar in Context (2005), Thomson Heinle
Foley, Mark & Diane Hall. My Grammar Lab Advanced(2012), Pearson.
https://www.grammarwiz.com/reduced-relative-clauses.html
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