Driving across the country with three small children is going to be stressful.
I’m driving across the country with three small children, which is going to be stressful.
Reducing relative clauses
Some types of relative clauses can be “reduced”— the relative pronoun and maybe other words can be removed. You might reduce the clause to make your writing more concise or to add sentence variety. We’ll use the examples above to demonstrate how to reduce both restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.
Restrictive relative clauses can be reduced in two ways.
Subject pronouns can be deleted if –ing is added to the verb.
I like the paintings that hang in the SASB North lobby.
I like the paintings hanging in the SASB North lobby.
Object pronouns can be deleted.
I like the bike that my father gave me.
I like the bike my father gave me.
Non-restrictive relative clauses can be reduced in one way.
Subject pronouns with “be” verbs can be deleted in non-restrictive clauses.
>I am moving to Louisville, KY, which is home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.
I am moving to Louisville, KY, home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.
My mother, who is an excellent cook, is thinking of opening a restaurant.
My mother, an excellent cook, is thinking of opening a restaurant.
Subject-verb agreement in relative clauses
Remember that the relative pronoun is substituting for a noun, which could be singular or plural before the substitution. The verb in the relative clause must agree with the original noun.
People are lucky. People win the lottery.
People who win the lottery are lucky. (plural verb)
A person is lucky. She wins the lottery every year.
