IELTS NHUNG TRAN

Grammar 2

REDUCED ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Pre-class tasks

Quiz 1. Reduce adjective clauses to phrases.

1. The man who is standing there is a clown.
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2. The envelop which lies on the table has no stamp on it.
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3. Benzene, which was discovered by Faraday, became the starting point in the
manufacture of many dyes, perfumes and explosives.
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4. My grandmother, who is old and sick, never goes out of the house.
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5. The students don’t know how to do the exercises which were given by the teacher
yesterday.
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6. The diagrams which were made by young Faraday were sent to Sir Humphry Davy at
the end of the year 1812.
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7. The gentleman who lives next door to me is a well-known orator.
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8. All the astronauts who are orbiting the earth in space capsules are weightless.
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9. All students who don’t hand in their papers will fail in the exam.
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10. I saw many houses that were destroyed by the storm.
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11. The street which leads to the school is very wide.
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12. The system which is used here is very successful.
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13. Mr Jackson, who teaches my son, is my neighbour.
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14. Trains which leave from this station take an hour to get to London.
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15. The candidates who are sitting for the exam are all from Vietnam.
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16. We are driving on the road which was built in 1980.
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17. Customers who complain about the service should see the manager.
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18. The city which was destroyed during the war has now been rebuilt.
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19. My brother, who met you yesterday, works for a big firm.
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20. The vegetables which are sold in this shop are grown without chemicals.
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Quiz 2. Replace the To-infinitive phrases by Adjective clauses.
1. Lady Astor was the first woman to take her seat in Parliament.
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2. The last student to be interviewed was John.
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3. I was the only person to see the difficulty.
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4. The last person to leave the room must turn out the lights.
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5. The air-hostess was the only person to survive the crash.
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6. Jim was the first boy to reach the top.
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7. He was the first man to leave the burning building.
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8. We had a lake to swim in.
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9. Here is an application form for you to fill in.
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In-class activities
Only adjective clauses having who, which, or that as the subject of the clause can
be reduced to a phrase modifying a noun.
1. Reduce to a Present Participle (Phrase):
That man who is coming towards us is my uncle.
 That man coming towards us is my uncle.
Do you know the boy who broke the windows last night?
 Do you know the boy breaking the windows last night?
2. Reduce to a Past Participle (Phrase):
The books which were written by To Hoai are interesting.
 The books written by To Hoai are interesting.
A bridge which was built only two years ago has been declared unsafe.
 A bridge built only two years ago has been declared unsafe.
3. Reduce to a noun (Phrase):
Dr. Fry, who is a Stanford University professor, is an authority on psychology.
 Dr. Fry, a Stanford University professor, is an authority on psychology.
My hobby which is skateboarding is exciting.
 My hobby skateboarding is exciting.
4. Reduce to a Prepositional Phrase:
The man who is in the house is my father.
 The man in the house is my father.
5. Reduce to an Infinitive (to + V_inf) or Infinitive Phrase (for + O + to V_inf):
English is an important language which we have to master.
 English is an important language to master.
There is a good restaurant where we can eat seafood.
 There is a good restaurant to eat seafood.
That is the hotel where we can stay.
 That is the hotel to stay.
There’s a lot of work which has to be done.
 There’s a lot of work to be done.
Here is a form that you must fill in.
 Here is a form for you to fill in.
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PRACTICE
Ex.1. Reduce adjective clauses in these sentences.
1. Da Lat, which is best known for foreign travelers, has pleasant weather.
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2. Animals that are born in a zoo generally adjust to captivity better than those
that are captured in the wild.
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3. Few tourists ever see a jaguar, which is a spotted wild car that is native to
tropical America.
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4. She is the only woman who was appointed to the board.
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5. The floor is dusty but I haven’t got a brush with which I can sweep it.
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6. A person who serves in a shop is called a shop assistant.
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7. John, who is my friend, has studied English for ten years.
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8. There are many exercises that we have to finish before school.
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9. The mistakes which you have to correct are very important.
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10. We have a few exercises that we have to do.
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Ex.2. Replace the Adjective clause by an infinitive or infinitive phrase.
1. We had a river in which we could swim.
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2. The child would be happier if he had someone that he could play with.
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3. I have some letters that I must write.
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4. If she had a family that she had to cook for, she would be more interested.
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5. I haven’t anyone that I can go with.

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6. We had to eat standing up because we hadn’t anything that we could sit on.
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7. I wish I had a box that I could keep my letters in.
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8. She hadn’t anyone to whom she could send cards.
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9. Have you got a key that can unlock this door?
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10. There are six letters which have to be written today.
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11. There is a bench that your children can sit on.
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12. We have some picture books that children can read.
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13. He was the second man who was killed in this way.
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14. Here is the novel that she should read.
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15. The man who was interviewed was entirely unsuitable.
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