Basics. Reduced Relative Clauses: Participles and Infinitives: correct answers
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Reduced relative clauses allow you to make your writing more concise by shortening adjective clauses. For example, instead of writing "The book that was written by Jane," you can use a passive participle phrase: "The book written by Jane." Similarly, active clauses use present participles ("The man who is standing there" becomes "The man standing there"), and phrases with ordinals or superlatives often reduce to infinitives ("The first person who arrived" becomes "The first person to arrive").
This advanced challenge tests your ability to correctly form and identify these shortened structures. You will tackle active and passive reductions, handle tricky stative and intransitive verbs (like consisting and belonging), and apply infinitive reductions after specific phrases (such as the only artifact to survive). The scenarios are just as challenging as the grammar, featuring cursed museum artifacts, alien starships, scathing restaurant reviews, and frantic IT server meltdowns.
You'll work through 10 questions in a mix of single-choice, multi-choice, drop-down, and drag-and-drop formats.
Try the quiz to check your knowledge!
Correct answers
Question 1
Complete the lead scientist's mission log about a strange extraterrestrial discovery.
The alien diet, primarily _____ of glowing blue rocks and cosmic dust, has fascinated our nutritionists for months.
The correct answer is consisting.
The original non-defining relative clause is "which primarily consists of...". Because the verb "consist" is active, we reduce it to the present participle consisting.
This is a common trap! Students often choose "consisted" because it sounds like the passive phrase "composed of." However, the verb "consist" is strictly intransitive and can never be passive. Therefore, it must be reduced using the active "-ing" form.
Question 2
The waiters dropping plates every five minutes didn't seem to care about the noise.
Use the present participle (-ing) to reduce an active relative clause ("waiters who were dropping plates"). Using the past tense "dropped" here would create a grammatically incorrect run-on sentence.
The soup, served at absolute zero, was ironically the highlight of the meal.
Use the past participle to reduce a passive relative clause ("soup which was served").
I believe I was the only patron to survive the evening without getting food poisoning!
When a noun is modified by phrases like "the first," "the last," or "the only," we use a to-infinitive to reduce the relative clause ("the only patron who survived").
Question 3
Help the museum curator complete the exhibition label for a bizarre artifact.
Any artifacts _____ to the notorious pirate Captain Blackbeard must be handled with extreme care, as they are most certainly cursed.
The correct answer is belonging.
This is an active reduced relative clause. The original clause is "which belong to...". To reduce an active relative clause, we replace the verb with its present participle (-ing) form.
Even though "belong" is a stative verb that isn't normally used in continuous tenses (we don't say "are belonging"), it must take the -ing form when used in a reduced relative clause. "Belonged" is incorrect because "belong" cannot be passive.
Question 4
The correct answers are: The soup served in a hollowed-out pumpkin tasted suspiciously like dish soap. The waiter carrying the flaming desserts tripped over the owner's cat.
"served in a hollowed-out pumpkin" correctly reduces a passive relative clause (which was served).
"carrying the flaming desserts" correctly reduces an active relative clause (who was carrying).
The sentence about the chef has two main verbs ("was yelling" and "threw") and needs either a relative pronoun (who was yelling) or a reduction (yelling).
The sentence about the steak uses the active present participle ("ordering") instead of the passive past participle ("ordered").
The sentence about the dessert contains a full relative clause ("which was covered"), not a reduced one.
Question 5
Complete the frustrated traveler's diary entry.
The passengers _____ stranded at the airport for over twelve hours finally received a half-hearted apology and a single stale donut.
The correct answer is left.
This is a passive reduced relative clause. The full clause would be "who were left stranded." To reduce it, we remove the relative pronoun ("who") and the "be" verb ("were"), leaving only the past participle left.
"Leaving" would incorrectly imply the passengers were doing the action of leaving someone else. "Were left" creates a grammar error because the sentence already has a main verb ("received").
Question 6
Help the museum curator finalize the placards for the new "Cursed Antiquities" exhibit by choosing the correct word for each blank.
The only artifact to survive the 1920 museum fire is a cryptic diary written in invisible ink. Visitors hoping to read its contents must use a special ultraviolet flashlight.
The only artifact to survive the 1920 museum fire is a cryptic diary written in invisible ink. Visitors hoping to read its contents must use a special ultraviolet flashlight.
to survive: We use a to-infinitive clause to reduce a relative clause after phrases like "the only", "the first", "the last", or "the next" (instead of "that survived").
written: We use a past participle to reduce a passive relative clause (short for "which was written").
hoping: We use a present participle to reduce an active relative clause (short for "who are hoping").
Question 7
The correct answers are orbiting the gas giant and damaged in the recent skirmish.
"orbiting the gas giant" is an active present participle phrase reducing the clause which were orbiting the gas giant.
"damaged in the recent skirmish" is a passive past participle phrase reducing the clause which had been damaged in the recent skirmish.
"which were transmitting a peace signal" is grammatically correct but is a full relative clause, not a reduced one.
"were orbiting the gas giant" creates a run-on sentence with two main verbs ("were orbiting" and "vanished").
"having damaged in the recent skirmish" is incorrect because it uses an active perfect participle for a passive meaning.
Question 8
Complete the IT manager's frantic incident report about the recent server meltdown by choosing the correct verb form for each gap.
The first technician to identify the glitch was a junior intern assigned to the night shift. Anyone experiencing login issues today should restart their computer immediately.
The first technician to identify the glitch was a junior intern assigned to the night shift. Anyone experiencing login issues today should restart their computer immediately.
to identify: We use a to-infinitive to reduce a relative clause following ordinal numbers like "the first", "the second", etc. (instead of "who identified").
assigned: We use a past participle to reduce a passive relative clause (short for "who was assigned").
experiencing: We use a present participle to reduce an active relative clause (short for "who is experiencing").
Question 9
The correct answers are: The artifacts found in the hidden chamber glowed with a strange green light. Anyone touching the golden idol will immediately turn into a parrot. The last person to leave the temple must seal the stone door.
"found in the hidden chamber" is a passive reduced relative clause (shortened from which were found).
"touching the golden idol" is an active reduced relative clause (shortened from who touches).
"to leave the temple" is an infinitive reduced relative clause (shortened from who leaves).
The sentences containing "who tripped" and "which was drawn" are grammatically correct, but they contain full relative clauses, not reduced ones!
Question 10
The mysterious alien artifacts found near the landing zone have started glowing neon green.
Use the past participle to reduce a simple passive relative clause ("artifacts which were found").
Any crew members experiencing sudden urges to sing opera must report to the medical bay immediately.
Use the present participle to reduce an active relative clause ("crew members who are experiencing").
The engine repairs currently being done on the outer hull are absolutely critical for our escape.
To reduce a continuous passive relative clause ("repairs which are currently being done"), use being + the past participle. Just using "done" would imply the repairs are already finished, which contradicts the word "currently."