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Shortening relative clauses using participles or infinitives.
A relative clause can sometimes be shortened by removing the relative pronoun and auxiliary or by replacing the clause with a participle or infinitive construction.
Reduced relative clauses make sentences more concise, especially in written and formal English.
An active relative clause can often be reduced to a present participle when the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
For example, The people who live here becomes The people living here.
Present participle reduction is especially natural when the relative clause describes an action or situation that is ongoing or characteristic.
For example, Students studying abroad often need additional support corresponds to Students who are studying abroad.
A passive relative clause can often be reduced to a past participle.
For example, The documents that were signed yesterday becomes The documents signed yesterday.
Past participle reduction is commonly used when the noun modified by the relative clause receives the action.
For example, The car that was damaged in the accident becomes The car damaged in the accident.
Relative clauses containing be + past participle can often be reduced by omitting the relative pronoun and be.
For example, The products that are made in Italy becomes The products made in Italy.
Some relative clauses with be + adjective can be shortened by removing the relative pronoun and be.
For example, People who are interested in the course becomes People interested in the course.
Relative clauses containing be followed by a prepositional phrase can sometimes be reduced.
For example, The students who are in the classroom becomes The students in the classroom.
Relative clauses with be + present participle can usually be reduced to a present participle.
For example, The woman who is standing by the door becomes The woman standing by the door.
A relative clause describing an earlier completed action can sometimes be reduced using a perfect participle.
For example, The students who had completed the course can become The students having completed the course, although the reduced form is more formal and less common.
A past participle can be followed by time or place expressions that remain part of the reduced relative clause.
For example, The documents signed last week are now available.
A present participle in a reduced relative clause can retain the object or other complements of the original verb.
For example, The people working on the project are meeting today.
A past participle in a reduced relative clause can retain complements and modifiers from the full passive clause.
For example, The equipment purchased from overseas was expensive.
Relative clauses after expressions such as the first, the last, the next, and the only can often be replaced by to-infinitives.
For example, She was the first person who arrived becomes She was the first person to arrive.
A relative clause after a superlative can sometimes be replaced by a to-infinitive.
For example, He was the best player who scored that season can be expressed more naturally as He was the best player to score that season.
A to-infinitive after expressions such as the first, the only, or the last can have active or passive meaning depending on the construction.
For example, She was the first person to see the problem has active meaning, while She was the first person to be informed has passive meaning.
Present participle and past participle reduction normally requires the relative pronoun to function as the subject of the original relative clause.
For example, The workers who are repairing the road becomes The workers repairing the road.
A defining relative clause whose pronoun is an object cannot normally be shortened simply by removing the pronoun.
The book that I bought cannot become The book buying; instead, the full clause or another valid reduced construction must be used.
Some reduced relative clauses may resemble adjective phrases, but their interpretation depends on the underlying relative-clause relationship.
For example, the people interested in the course can correspond to the people who are interested in the course.
Reduced relative clauses are particularly common in formal, academic, technical, and written English.
They can make descriptions more compact and help avoid repeated relative pronouns and auxiliary verbs.
Scientific and technical writing frequently uses participle reductions to describe processes, materials, and groups concisely.
For example, Samples collected from the control group were analyzed separately.
Reduction can make written language more concise by removing repeated grammatical material.
For example, The data obtained during the experiment were consistent with the hypothesis is shorter than The data that were obtained during the experiment...
A reduced relative clause should be used only when the modified noun and the implied subject of the participle are clear.
Poorly controlled reduction can make it unclear which noun performs or receives the action.
Choose a full or reduced relative clause according to clarity, register, complexity, and the relationship between the noun and the participle or infinitive.
Full relative clauses are often preferable in conversation or when the reduced construction could be difficult to interpret.
Reduce a relative clause only when its grammatical subject and the relationship between the noun and reduced form are clear.
Common mistakes include using a present participle for a passive meaning, reducing an object relative clause incorrectly, creating dangling modifiers, and using an infinitive where a participle reduction is required.