Reduced and Participle Clauses
I can compress a clause while preserving the subject, voice and intended relationship.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Start with the contrast
The people waiting outside are applicants means the people who are waiting outside. The forms submitted yesterday are on the desk means the forms that were submitted yesterday. In “Having checked the forms, Jo called the applicants”, Jo performs both actions. Shorter grammar still has to keep the relationships clear.
Read the situation transcript
The people waiting outside are applicants means the people who are waiting outside. The forms submitted yesterday are on the desk means the forms that were submitted yesterday. In “Having checked the forms, Jo called the applicants”, Jo performs both actions. Shorter grammar still has to keep the relationships clear.
Who checked the forms in the final sentence?
Compare your idea
Jo, the subject of the main clause, is understood as the person who checked them.
How it works
A present-participle modifier can describe an active relationship: people waiting outside. A past-participle modifier often has a passive relationship: forms submitted yesterday. Reduction is not a mechanical deletion of every relative word and auxiliary in every clause.
An initial participle clause normally shares its understood subject with the main clause: Having checked the forms, Jo called. If the subjects do not match, rewrite rather than creating a dangling modifier. The logical relation may be time, reason or circumstance; make ambiguity explicit.
Active modifier: noun + -ing phrase. Passive modifier: noun + past participle phrase. Initial participle clause: shared understood subject.
Original relationship
The people waiting outside are applicants.
The people are doing the waiting.
Alternative construction
The forms submitted yesterday are on the desk.
The forms received the action of submission.
Hear the examples
The people waiting outside are applicants.
The people are doing the waiting.
The forms submitted yesterday are on the desk.
The forms received the action of submission.
Having checked the forms, Jo called the applicants.
Jo completed the check before calling.
While waiting, Jo reviewed her notes.
Jo is the person waiting and reviewing.
One mistake worth avoiding
Instead of: Having checked the forms, the phone rang.
Say: After Jo had checked the forms, the phone rang.
The phone did not check the forms; a finite clause makes the different subjects clear.
You say
Hear the prompt, answer aloud, then deliberately reveal or hear one possible model. Check it and retry with a changed detail.
Your turn 1
Compress an active relative about people waiting.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The people waiting outside are applicants.
Check yourself: Preserve the active relationship.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 2
Compress a passive relative about submitted forms.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The forms submitted yesterday are on the desk.
Check yourself: Keep the forms as recipients of submission.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 3
Use an initial participle clause with an explicit matching subject.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
Having checked the forms, Jo called the applicants.
Check yourself: Jo must perform both actions in this intended reading.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Two guided self-checks
Say or write your answer before opening a model.
Self-check 1
Repair the subject mismatch: “Walking into the room, the lights went out.”
Compare a model and explanation
As Jo walked into the room, the lights went out.
A finite clause gives the walker a subject separate from the lights.
Self-check 2
Expand “the forms submitted yesterday”.
Compare a model and explanation
The forms that were submitted yesterday.
The participle has a passive relationship to forms.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer to each question, then check your answers. One of the ten questions is listening.
Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key after attempting all ten questions.
Answer key with explanations
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The people ___ outside are applicants.
waiting: Waiting gives the intended active modifier.
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The forms ___ yesterday are on the desk.
submitted: Submitted gives the passive relationship to forms.
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Who checks in “Having checked the forms, Jo called”?
Jo: The initial participle clause shares the understood subject Jo.
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Which sentence has a subject mismatch in the intended ordinary reading?
Having checked the forms, the phone rang.: The phone cannot be the intended checker.
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Which expansion preserves “the forms submitted yesterday”?
The forms that were submitted yesterday: The original is passive and refers to yesterday.
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Correct “Having check the forms, Jo called.”
Having checked the forms, Jo called.: Having is followed by the participle in the perfect participle construction.
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Can every relative clause be reduced by simply deleting the relative word?
No: The permitted structure and intended relationships must remain grammatical and clear.
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Which action was completed first?
Checking the forms: Having checked presents the check as completed before the call.
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Which rewrite clearly handles different subjects?
After Jo checked the forms, the phone rang.: The finite after-clause explicitly names Jo and avoids the dangling interpretation.
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What must concise clauses preserve?
Who does what, voice and the intended relation between events: Compression is useful only when the relationships remain recoverable.
Take it with you
I can compress a clause while preserving the subject, voice and intended relationship.