REDUCED CLAUSES

Independent clauses act as complete sentences, while subordinate clauses cannot stand alone and need another clause to complete their meaning.. Reducing Clauses to Phrases REDUCING CLAU

REDUCED CLAUSES

Mã: A14

I Sentences, clauses and phrases

a Sentences

Sentences are made of two parts: the subject and the predicate

The subject is the person or thing that acts or is described in the sentence The predicate,

on the other hand, is that action or description

Complete sentences need both the subject and the predicate

b Clauses

Sentences can be broken down into clauses For example:

The boy is going to the school, and he is going to eat there

This is a complete sentence composed of two clauses There are mainly two types of clauses: independent clauses and subordinate clauses

Independent clauses act as complete sentences, while subordinate clauses cannot stand alone and need another clause to complete their meaning

For example:

Independent clause: “The boy went to the school.”

Subordinate clause: “After the boy went to the school…”

c Phrases

A group of two or more grammatically linked words that do not have subject and

predicate is a phrase For example:

The girl is at home, and tomorrow she is going to the amusement park

You can see that “the amusement park” is a phrase located in the second clause of the

complete sentence above

Phrases act like parts of speech inside clauses That is, they can act as nouns, adjectives, adverbs and so on

$ A clause contrasts with a sentence Except in the case of a whole sentence, which is technically said to be also a clause, a clause is always smaller than the sentence that contains it

$ A clause also contrasts with a phrase Clauses contain phrases Clauses are bigger than the simple phrases they contain The crucial characteristic of a clause, which is lacking from a phrase, is that a clause normally has its own verb and all or many of the other basic ingredients of a whole sentence

II Reduced clauses to phrases

In order to write concise sentences, use only the words necessary to achieve meaning and coherence Unnecessary words should be eliminated One way to achieve this is to reduce clauses to phrases when a phrase can do the work of a clause Only subordinate clauses can be reduced

Reducing Clauses to Phrases

REDUCING CLAUSES TO PHRASES

• Clause is a group of related words that contain a subject and a verb

• Phrase is a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb

In English, a clause can be reduced to a phrase by modifying certain forms

Adjective clause → Adjective phrase Adverb clause → Adverb phrase

2.1 Adjective Clause Reduction

An adjective clause, also called a relative clause, is a group of words that modify or

describe a noun Remember that adjective clauses contain a subject and a verb, begin with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, which), and are dependent clauses, which means that they cannot stand alone because they have no meaning without an

independent (main) clause

She is the woman + who works at the bakery

(Independent clause) (Adjective clause)

Relative Clause Reduction Rules

1 In defining clauses, we can omit the relative pronoun in the position of object

P The boy who / whom / that you don’t like much wants to talk to you

→ The boy you don’t like much wants to talk to you

$ Note: In non-defining sentences you neither omit the relative pronoun nor use "that"

My mother, who / whom that you met yesterday, wants to talk to you

My mother you met yesterday

2 We can use participles when reducing the sentence

a) Present Participle V-ing

PWe stood on the bridge which connects the two halves of the city

→ We stood on the bridge connecting the two halves of the city

b) Past Participle V3 or being V3

P Two boy who was attacked by a dog was taken to hospital

→ Two boy attacked by a dog was taken to hospital

c) Perfect Participle: having V3 (active-explaining sth.happened before the others)

P The girl who has asked a question is very clever

→The girl having asked a question is very clever

d) Perfect passive participle: having been V3 (passive-explaining sth happened before

the others)

PThe teacher who has been asked a question is very clever

→ The teacher having been asked a question is very clever.(Perfect passive participle)

3 When the verb “have” meaning possession, we can omit relative pronoun and

“have” and use with(+) or without(-)

PStudents who have enough knowledge and skills will be admitted

→ Students with enough knowledge and skills will be admitted

PPeople who don’t have their ID cards can not get in

→ People without their ID cards can not get in

4 We can use infinitive “to” in the cases below

1 The only to

2 Superlative to

3 The first, last, second, next to

PJohn is the only person who understands me

→ John is the only person to understand me

PTom is the most handsome boy who came in this school

→ Tom is the most handsome boy to come in this school

PJack is the first person who has handed in this exam

→ Jack is the first person to have handed in this exam

5 You can omit the relative pronoun and the verb be when they are followed by a

noun phrase in a non-defining relative clause This is called an appositive

PJan Smith, who is an expert on Millenials, will be speaking at noon today

→Jan Smith, an expert on Millenials, will be speaking at noon today

The appositive and the modified noun are interchangeable

→An expert on Millenials, Jan Smith, will be speaking at noon today

2.2 Adverb Clause Reduction

An adverb clause is a group of words that starts with a subordinating conjunction (a word that signals how, when, or why something is done) and has a subject and a verb However, because it starts with a subordinating conjunction, the clause becomes a dependent clause It cannot stand alone because it is not a complete idea, so it must be joined with an independent clause

While I am cooking, + I like to listen to the radio

(Adverb clause) (Independent clause)

There are a number of adverb clauses in English such as adverb clauses of time, causality, opposition, condition, manner, and place Not all adverb clauses can be reduced Here are some examples of each type of adverb clauses which can be reduced:

A Reducing Adverb Clauses of Time

Adverb clauses of time are reduced in a number of ways depending on the time

expression used Here are the most common:

Before / After / Since / while

• Keep the time word

• Remove the subject

• Change the verb to the gerund form

Examples:

PBefore Tom studied abroad, he took an English course

→ Before studying abroad, Tom took an English course

PAfter he (had) sold his house, he built a new one

→ After selling his house, he built a new one

→ After having sold his house, he built a new one

PSince Marry moved here, she has got a lot of friends

→ Since moving here, Marry has got a lot of friends

P While Mr Harry was explaining the lesson, he wrote on the blackboard

→ While explaining the lesson, Mr Harry wrote on the blackboard

$ Note:

“when” may also be used like “while”

P When you are walking alone at night in Paris streets, be careful

→ When walking alone at night in Paris streets, be careful

As

• Delete 'as'

• Remove the subject

• Change the verb to the gerund form

Examples:

PAs I was falling asleep, I thought about my friends in Italy

→ Falling asleep, I thought about my friends in Italy

PAs she was driving to work, she saw a deer in the road

→ Driving to work, she saw a deer in the road

As soon as

• Delete ‘as soon as’ and replace with 'upon' or 'on'

• Remove the subject

• Change the verb to the gerund form

Examples:

PAs soon as she finished the report, she gave it to the boss

→ Upon finishing the report, she gave it to the boss

PAs soon as we woke up, we got our fishing poles and went to the lake

→ On waking up, we got our fishing poles and went to the lake

When

Instead of when + clause, we can use on/upon + V ing

P When Sandra graduated from university, she applied for a job

→ On/upon graduating from university, she applied for a job

$ Note:

In passive sentences or when the verb “to be” is the main verb of the sentence, we can omit the subject and be

PWhen he was a little boy, he was very naughty

→ When a little boy, he was very naughty

PWhen they are used too often, words or phrases may lose their value

→ When used too often, words or phrases may lose their value

B Reducing Adverb Clauses of causality

Adverb clauses of causality (providing the reason for something) are introduced by the

subordinating conjunctions 'because', 'since' and 'as' Each of these is reduced in the

same manner

• Remove the subordinating conjunction

• Remove the subject

• Change the verb to the gerund form/ adjective/ noun

Examples:

PBecause she is a mother now, she has more responsibilities

→ Being a mother now, she has more responsibilities

→ A mother now, she has more responsibilities

PSince she is suitable for the vacant post, she is lucky

→ Being suitable for the vacant post, she is lucky

→ Suitable for the vacant post, she is lucky

PAs Tom had extra work to do, he stayed late at work

→ Having extra work to do, Tom stayed late at work

PAs he was a child of noble birth, he was famous among the children in that school

→ Being a child of noble birth, he was famous among the children in that school

→ A child of noble birth, he was famous among the children in that school

$ Note:

If adverbial clause mentions an event which happened before the event in main clause, then we prefer “having V3” (perfect participle)

P Because I injured my back yesterday, I now have difficulty in walking

→ Having injured my back yesterday, I now have difficulty in walking

In negative reductions, we use "not + Ving" or "not having V3"

PBecause I don’t know her phone number, I can’t call her

→ Not knowing her phone number, I can’t call her

PBecause she hadn't studied well, she failed in the exam yesterday

→ Not having studied well, she failed in the exam yesterday

C Reducing Adverb Clauses of Opposition

Adverb clauses of opposition beginning with 'though', 'although', or 'while' can be

reduced in the following manner

• Keep the subordinating conjunction

• Remove the subject and the verb 'be'

• Keep the noun or adjective

• OR Change the verb to the gerund form

Examples:

P While he was a happy man, he had many serious problems

→ While happy, he had many serious problems (adjective)

PAlthough she was beautiful, she still felt shy

→ Although beautiful, she still felt shy (adjective)

P Though she was an excellent student, she failed to pass the test

→ Though an excellent student, she failed to pass the test (noun)

P Although he had a car, he decided to walk

→ Although having a car, he decided to walk (gerund)

$ Notes:

1 An adverb clause can be changed to a modifying phrase ONLY WHEN THE

SUBJECT OF THE ADVERB CLAUSE AND THE SUBJECT OF THE MAIN

CLAUSE ARE THE SAME Or, no change is possible if the subjects of the adverb clause and the main clause are different

eg:

No change possible:

PWhile the teacher was lecturing to the class, I fell asleep

PWhile we were walking home, a frog hopped across the road in front of us

2 Sometimes while is omitted but the -ing phrase at the beginning of sentence gives the same meaning

eg:

PWhile walking down the street, I ran into an old friend

P Walking down the street, I ran into an old friend

4 Having + past participle gives the meaning not only of "because" but also of

"before"

ex:

PHaving seen that movie before, I don't want to go again

PHaving seen that movie before, I didn't want to go again

5 We can make reductions with “if, unless, as if, whether …or”

P If they were treated fairly, they wouldn't lose the game

→ If treated fairly, they wouldn't lose the game

P Unless we are paid fairly, we will go on a strike

→ Unless paid fairly, we will go on a strike

P They were running hurriedly, as if they were being chased by someone

→They were running hurriedly, as if being chased by someone

6 Not all adverb clauses can be reduced Some can be reduced in passive only Some can be reduced in active only, and some can be reduced in both

- reduced in ACTIVE: after, before, while, when, if, unless, whether, although, though

- reduced in PASSIVE: once, until, whenever, where, wherever, as

- reduced in BOTH: if, unless, whether, although, though, when, since

7 We can make reductions even when the subjects are different

PBecause our car is broken down, we have been travelling to work by bus since last week

→ Our car being broken down, we have been travelling to work by bus since last week PAs the weather was cold, we had to postpone the picnic

→ The weather being cold, we had to postpone the picnic

P Because there was a long queue, we didn't want to wait

→ There being a long queue, we didn't want to wait

The reduced phrases in the above examples are called absolute phrases They are different from participial phrases in that they explicitly mention the subject The subject

is never mentioned in participial phrases For example, "being rich" is a participial phrase, "he being rich" is an absolute phrase Another difference between participial

construction and absolute construction is that the subjects of absolute phrases are always

different from those of their main clauses For this reason the syntactic relation between

the absolute phrase and the main clause is always a fragile one So it is called absolute phrase (Absolute means "independent" or "not related”) The absolute phrases serve to

give additional details in a hurried manner

EXERCISES ON REDUCED ADVERB CLAUSES

I Complete the following sentences with reduced adverb clauses

1 While _ work, I saw an old friend of mine

A I walking home from B walking home from

C walked home from D walking home work

2 Before _, I brushed my teeth

A left my house B I leaving my house

C leaving my house D my house leaving

3 I feel asleep _ TV

A while I watch B while watching

C while watched D during I was watching

4 While _ about adverb clauses, a mild earthquake shook the classroom

A the teacher lecturing B the teacher was lecturing

5 _, a dog chased us down the street

A While running B While we were running

C We were running while D While running we were

6 Since _ to San Bernardino, Yih-Ping has made many friends

7 Peter went back to school _ the phone

A after John calling him on B John had called him on

C after John had called him on D after John had called him

8 _ yesterday, we saw many deer

A While we hiking through the woods B Hiking through the woods

C During hiking through the woods D Hiking through the woods we

9 _ the necessary qualifications, she was not hired for a job

10 Unable to run the entire 42 kilometers, she decided to drop out of the race, _ her a heat stroke

A the fatigue from the intense heat almost gave

B the fatigue from the intense heat having almost given

C which the fatigue from the intense heat having almost given

D the fatigue from the intense heat had almost given

11 _ the age of 21, he was able to gamble in Las Vegas

12 _, Martha was watching her favorite TV program

A While Penchart talking to his friend B While Penchart was talked

to his friend