The man talking to Mary is my brother.
- Language
- English
- Level
- B2
- Unit
- Relative and Participle Clauses
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
A reduced relative clause is a shorter way to give extra information about a noun. We remove the relative pronoun (like 'who', 'which', or 'that') and sometimes the verb 'be'.
When to use it
We use reduced relative clauses in English to make sentences shorter and more natural, especially in written English. They are common when describing people or things.
Key forms
- Present participle: noun + verb-ing (e.g., The man talking to Mary)
- Past participle: noun + past participle (e.g., The book written by John)
Examples
The book written by John is very interesting.
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The cake made by my mother was delicious.
Tips
- Use the -ing form for active meaning (the person does the action).
- Use the past participle for passive meaning (the action is done to the person or thing).
- Do not use a subject or relative pronoun (who, which, that) in the reduced clause.
Exceptions and edge cases
- You cannot reduce relative clauses when the relative pronoun is the subject and the verb is not 'be'.