Reduced Adjective Clauses — Rules

A reduced adjective clause begins with either a present participle or a past participle. It's simple to know which one to use: if the reduced clause is made from an active verb, start the adjective clause with the present participle, but if it's made from a passive verb, begin the adjective clause with a past participle. For example, the ordinary adjective clause in the first example:

Example 1

Example	Adjective Clause	Verb in the adjective clause
I saw a man who was carrying an umbrella.	who was carrying an umbrella	“was carrying” is active

reduces to:

Example	Reduced Adjective Clause	Participle that starts the reduced clause
I saw a man carrying an umbrella.	carrying an umbrella	carrying

We use “carrying” in the reduced clause because it comes from the active verb in the original clause.

Example 2

Example	Adjective Clause	Verb in the adjective clause
The people who worked there got a raise last year.	who worked there	“worked” is active

This reduces to:

Example	Reduced Adjective Clause	Participle that starts the reduced clause
The people working there got a raise last year.	working there	working

Example 3

Example	Adjective Clause	Verb in the adjective clause
The books which were published that year are expensive.	which were published that year	“were published” is passive

reduces to:

Example	Reduced Adjective Clause	Participle that starts the reduced clause
The books published that year are expensive.	published that year	published