Download Adjective clauses and reductions

AEG
Adjective Clauses in Academics
Review of Adjective Clauses
A. Underline the adjective clauses in the following adapted sentences from “It’s Culture,
Not Morality.” Then label the relative pronoun as subject or object of the adjective
clause.
1. Those who want to understand the ideas in the book may want to note the title. (line
21)
2. Students who look for the “next step” may not care as much as they should about
actual learning, Blum suggests. (Line 39)
3. Students feel no hesitation about downloading music that they haven't purchased.
(line 45)
4. Students love to quote from pop culture or other sources because they feel pride in
working into conversation quotes that they never invented. (line 47)
5. So where does that leave the academic who wants to see students do their own
work and learn proper techniques of citation. (line 54)
B. Some of the adjective clauses in the sentences above have actually been changed.
Look at the lines of the article that are noted in parentheses at the end of each sentence
and focus just on the adjective clause part. If the adjective clauses are different in the
article, change them in the sentences above so that they are the same as they are in
the article.
So, what are the rules? Answer these questions to help you discover them.
1. Which sentences leave out just the relative pronoun?
 Is the pronoun a subject or object pronoun?
2. Which sentence leaves out more?
 Is the pronoun a subject or object pronoun?
 What else is missing? Changed?
3. Which sentences can become phrases? Those with object or subject pronouns?
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Adjective Clauses in Academics
Reducing Adjective Clauses to Adjective Phrases
Sentences with subject-lead adjective clauses can be reduced, but the rules are
different than for other kinds of adjective clause reductions {where the relative pronoun
is the only thing that’s omitted}. Most importantly, when reducing a subject-lead
adjective clause, it results in an adjective PHRASE, not a full clause.
There are several ways to make reduced adjective phrases, depending on the verbs in
your adjective clause:
Remove the relative pronoun and the first “be” verb in the relative clause (for
progressive and passive tenses)
 The people who were working on the project had to take a training course last month.
The people working on the project had to take a training course last month.
 The Coca Cola Company, which was started in 1886, is still very successful.
The Coca Cola Company, started in 1886, is still very successful.
Now you Try!
1. Canada, which is located north of the USA, is a little bigger and much colder.
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2. Toronto, which is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is the largest city in
Canada.
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3. Who's the guy who's playing tennis with her?
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4. The bread that is being made today won't be ready until 5.
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5. Our textbook, which was written in 1972, does not have much current information.
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AEG
Adjective Clauses in Academics
Remove the relative pronoun and change the verb to -ing (gerund)
 Students who want to study here this September must apply before July.
Students wanting to study here this September must apply before July.
 Cars that need serious repairs will not be allowed on the road.
Cars needing serious repairs will not be allowed on the road.
Now you Try!
1. I'd like something that contains less sugar, please.
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2. I like the paintings that hang in Smith Hall.
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3. Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome.
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4. We have an apartment which overlooks the park.
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5. There were several people who wanted to learn about adjective clauses.
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Special situations: Modals
In some cases, you can reduce a modal to an infinitive, a form which reviewed
previously.
 This is the teacher who can tell us about adjective clauses.
This is the teacher to tell us about adjective clauses
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Adjective Clauses in Academics
However…When you have a modal, the modal cannot change to a gerund, so
you have a couple choices:
a) Remove the modal
b) Keep the clause
1.
I talked to the people who could do the exam next week.
2.
The students who should be selected are those that have worked the hardest.
What else can be reduced?
Clauses with prepositional phrases
EX: The computers that are in our classroom are fast.
The computers in our classroom are fast.
EX: The book, which is about to appear from Cornell University Press, is sure to
be controversial.
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Here are some situations where reducing doesn’t work
1. The clause includes a be-verb and an adjective only:
That man who is angry knows my father
That man angry knows my father
 That angry man knows my father.
 That man angry at the world knows my father
2. The restrictive clause that includes a be-verb and a noun only:
The man who is a doctor knows my father.
The man a doctor knows my father.
 That doctor knows my father.
 The man, a doctor in Portland, knows my father. (Still a bit awkward)
As always, your goal should be clarity and simplicity!
If reducing interferes with this, it’s time to re-think your use of reduced clauses.
AEG
Adjective Clauses in Academics
More information about Adjective Phrases
Adjective phrases are as common as adjective clauses in academic writing.
NOTE: Just because a verb in the reduced form has the –ing ending, this doesn't mean
it’s in present progressive! In fact, many of the verbs that commonly appear in academic
writing as adjective phrases are non-action verbs!
EX. Blum wrote a book which concerns* plagiarism.
Blum wrote a book concerning plagiarism.
 Here are the most common verbs in –ing adjective phrases:
arising
including
concerning
involving
consisting
relating
containing
having
requiring
resulting
using
 Here are the most common verbs in –ed adjective phrases:
based
obtained
caused
produced
concerned
taken
* concern = be about a particular subject
given
used
made
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Adjective Clauses in Academics
Let’s practice! Work to identify then reduce at least five adjective clauses below.
The word culture is usually connected to countries, but smaller groups of people
can also have their own cultures. American universities, for example, can be said to
have a culture that is unique to that sort of establishment. The ways in which people
who work and study at these places interact with each other have special characteristics.
The words that they use and the way that they use them are part of the culture.
Students who are unfamiliar with this culture must learn the customary ways in order to
succeed. If they act differently than is expected, the consequences can be severe. A
good example of this is how ownership of ideas and citation of original authors is critical
to college work. According to Susan Blum, who is a professor of anthropology at Notre
Dame and the author of My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture, many of today’s
students, who are part of a generation that builds community by quoting lines from pop
culture without saying who originally said it, have a different concept of ownership than
their professors, who are usually of a different generation (as cited in Jaschik, 2010.)
For these students, citing sources is a foreign concept. Because they do not know any
differently, they are likely to plagiarize, which is a serious offence in academia.
Professors who want their students to succeed must help them to recognize these
cultural differences and to learn to behave in the ways that are expected in American
universities.
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3. __________________________________________________________________
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5. ___________________________________________________________________