Lecture on Reduced Relative Clauses

Introduction

• Advanced English topic beneficial for exams like IELTS and Cambridge First
• Improves quality of written English

Reduced Relative Clause Definition

• Consists of a participle (present or past) without a relative pronoun
• Examples:
  • Present Participle: "There are two children waiting in the classroom."
  • Past Participle: "The bananas dipped in chocolate were really yummy."

Usage of Participles

• Present Participle: Used in place of an active verb
• Past Participle: Used in place of a passive verb

Examples

• "There were teachers shouting and students running out of the building."
• "Ron only drinks coffee made from fresh coffee beans grown organically."

Tenses and Participles

• Participle can replace verbs in past, present, or future tenses.
  • Example: "The winner is the person scoring the most goals in the game."

Simplifying Sentences with Reduced Relative Clauses

• "The Champions Cup is for the most goals scored in the match."
• Used for simple passive situations: "I am worried about the man held in prison without a trial."
• Continuous passive: "I am worried about the man being held in prison without a trial."
• Perfect passive: "I am worried about the man having been held in prison without a trial."

Non-defining Relative Clauses

• Used in written descriptions and narratives:
  • "The old van trailing black smoke drove off towards the desert."
  • "Brian Smith nicknamed Big Bear was my favourite uncle."

Negative Reduced Relative Clauses

• Place 'not' before the participle:
  • "My friends not having much money never went out in the evening."
  • "I'd prefer trousers not made with synthetic materials."

Adjectives Used Similarly to Reduced Relative Clauses

• Examples: "There was one table available in the restaurant."
  • Other adjectives: necessary, possible, present, ready, responsible, suitable

Limitations of Using Participles

• Not for verbs describing a single or sudden action:
  • Wrong: "There was a sudden noise waking me up."
• Not for verbs with a subject different from the relative pronoun:
  • Wrong: "There are several bags needing from the house."

Infinitive Usage

• Use an infinitive after adjectives like first, second, third:
  • "Diane Nyad was the first person to swim from Florida to Cuba."

Exercise

• Example given to practice reducing relative clauses
  • "For all you food lovers sitting at home..."

Conclusion

• Encouragement to practice and seek feedback
• Reminder to like, share, and subscribe to support free English lessons