Reducing Relative Clauses with Participles (Easy)

Reducing relative clauses means replacing a longer clause such as who is waiting or that is sleeping with a shorter participle phrase. In this easy practice, the relative clause describes someone or something doing an action now, so the answer uses the -ing form: "The woman who is waiting at the bus stop" becomes "The woman waiting at the bus stop." The sentence keeps the same meaning, but it becomes lighter and more natural in written English for descriptions.

Focus on the part after the noun. Remove the relative word who, which, or that, remove the form of be, and keep the present participle. Do not change the main verb after the participle phrase: "The children playing in the park look happy" still needs look because the subject is plural. This route builds confidence with active -ing reductions before you move on to passive past participles and more complex relative clauses.