My moment came during my first year in Japan. I had been studying from a textbook on my own and was slowly starting to figure some stuff out. For example, if you want to offer tea to someone, you say “Anata wa o-cha nomimasu ka?” By putting ka on the end, you make it a question and masu at the end of the verb makes if very polite. “Would you like to drink some tea?” How lovely! That’s why, when the middle-aged OL in the teacher’s lounge kept saying to me “O-cha nomu,” I thought she was telling me that she was going to have some tea. I started to get confused when she repeated this for the fourth time. Suddenly, it dawned on me! She was asking ME if I wanted some tea. Huh? Where’s the ka? (This would be similar to an American asking a basic English speaker “Want some coffee?” Huh?) My confusion was caused because I didn’t realize she was reducing the formal question that I had learned.
A reduced clause is a clause that has had unnecessary or understood words left out. For example, you can shorten Before I go to bed, I brush my teeth to Before going to bed... because the subject of both clauses is I. This is an example of a reduced adverb clause. There are tons of reductions in English, but the good people at Educational Testing Services (ETS), also known as the wonderful company that makes the SAT test, just loves putting reduced adjective clauses on the TOEFL test, which they have also generously blessed us with. My guess is that more than 10% of questions on Part II of the TOEFL test relate to reduced adjective clauses. Learning to recognize them is a good step toward improving your score.
What are the most common ways to reduce an adjective clause?
By far the most common reduced adjective clauses are defining*, object** clauses. They are also the easiest to reduce. Look at the following examples.
- I forgot to bring the lunch that I made last night.
- Our son introduced us to the girl who he has been dating.
- I will never forget the day when my son was born.
- Is there somewhere where I can store my luggage for a few hours?
All you have to do is remove the relative pronoun. (BTW - in informal English, that can almost always be used instead of who, when and where.)
- I forgot to bring the lunch I made last night.
- Our son introduced us to the girl he has been dating.
- I will never forget the days my sons were born.
- Is there somewhere I can store my luggage for a few hours?
The easiest way to identify these reduced clauses is to look for two nouns that are not separated by a comma next to each other. These are similar to appositives, which are also reduced adjective clauses, but they are quite different.*** These are also the easiest reduced clauses for second-language learners to write.
The second most common reduced adjective clause comes from a defining subject clause that also has a form of the be verb in it. This includes SVC clauses, continuous verbs (be doing) and passive verbs (be done).
- My wife made a dinner that was worthy of a king. (SVC)
- The children who are playing in the pool are making a lot of noise. (continuous)
- Who owns the car that is parked illegally? (passive)
Just like the other reduced clauses, you start by eliminating the relative pronoun. However, you must also eliminate the be verb. You don’t have to do anything to the main verbs, though.
- My wife made a dinner worthy of a king.
- The children playing in the pool are making a lot of noise.
- Who owns the car parked illegally?
The third main type of reduced adjective clause is a little trickier. How do you reduce a clause that doesn’t have a be verb? The answer is: Carefully.
- A s’more is a camping favorite that consists of chocolate, marshmallow and graham crackers.
- Anyone who takes this class next year will have to buy the new version of the textbook.
Just like all the others, you start by eliminating the relative pronoun. However, you can’t just leave the verb as it is. Otherwise, it will look like a main clause. (You will have two main verbs but no connecting word.) The second step is to change the main verb of the adjective clause to a gerund. (This looks very similar to a reduced continuous tense clause.)
- A s’more is a camping favorite consisting of chocolate, marshmallow and graham crackers.
- Anyone taking this class next year will have to buy the new version of the textbook.
Voila! There you have it. These are the three ways I have found to reduce an adjective clause. Most reduced clauses are defining, but you can reduce non-defining subject clauses by following the same rules. It doesn’t seem to be nearly as common though. There are, however, some clauses that cannot be reduced. You cannot reduce a non-defining object clause. It just ain’t possible. You also cannot reduce a clause that has a helping verb like can, must or will.
If you understand these rules and want to try reducing clauses in your own writing, be my guest. It’s not extremely important to be able to do this, but it will make your writing smoother. It is essential, though, that you be able to recognize reduced adjective clauses when you find one, especially on the TEOFL test. The simplest test, when you think you’ve found one is to add that and the be verb. If it works, it's a reduced adjective clause. With practice, this will get easier and easier.
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*For an explanation of defining and non-defining clauses, please refer to my blog on the subject: The Eternal Question: Which or That?
**An object clause is one in which the relative pronoun (who, which or that) is the direct object of the adjective clause. A subject clause is one in which the relative clause is the subject of the clause.
- I just bought a new car. / Do you like the car that you just bought?
- The car has a GPS system. / I need a car that has a GPS system.
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