How to Reduce Relative Clauses in English: A Guide for ESL Learners

How to Reduce Relative Clauses in English: A Guide for ESL Learners

Relative clauses are a type of dependent clause that provides additional information about a noun or pronoun. They are often introduced by relative pronouns such as who, which, or that.

While relative clauses can be useful for adding detail to your writing, they can also make your sentences unnecessarily long and complex. In some cases, you can improve the readability of your writing by reducing relative clauses.

Here are a few tips for reducing relative clauses:

1. Use a comma instead of a relative pronoun.

For example, instead of writing The man who lives next door is a doctor, you could write The man, who lives next door, is a doctor.

2. Use an adjective instead of a relative clause.

For example, instead of writing The book that I am reading is very interesting, you could write The book I am reading is very interesting.

3. Use a prepositional phrase instead of a relative clause.

For example, instead of writing The woman who works at the hospital is my mother, you could write The woman at the hospital is my mother.

4. Omit the relative pronoun and verb.

This is only possible if the relative clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. For example, instead of writing The car that I bought last year is a Honda, you could write The car I bought last year is a Honda.

By following these tips, you can reduce relative clauses and improve the readability of your writing. This will make your writing more concise and easier to understand.

Here are some additional tips for reducing relative clauses:

• Use active voice instead of passive voice.

For example, instead of writing The report that was written by the committee was submitted to the board, you could write The committee submitted the report to the board.

• Use parallel structure.

For example, instead of writing The man who lives next door is a doctor, and the woman who lives across the street is a lawyer, you could write The man next door is a doctor, and the woman across the street is a lawyer.

• Use coordination instead of subordination.

For example, instead of writing The man who lives next door is a doctor, and he is also a musician, you could write The man next door is a doctor and a musician.

By following these tips, you can reduce relative clauses and improve the readability of your writing. This will make your writing more concise and easier to understand.

Here are some examples of how to reduce relative clauses in English:

Original Sentence	Reduced Sentence
The man who lives next door is a doctor.	The man next door is a doctor.
The book that I am reading is very interesting.	The book I am reading is very interesting.
The woman who works at the hospital is my mother.	The woman at the hospital is my mother.
The car that I bought last year is a Honda.	The car I bought last year is a Honda.
The report that was written by the committee was submitted to the board.	The committee submitted the report to the board.
The man who lives next door is a doctor, and the woman who lives across the street is a lawyer.	The man next door is a doctor, and the woman across the street is a lawyer.
The man who lives next door is a doctor, and he is also a musician.	The man next door is a doctor and a musician.

By reducing relative clauses, you can improve the readability of your writing and make it more concise and easier to understand.