Many of the clauses we have seen so far use the verb 'be.'
- Anyone who is over 8-years-old can use the pool.
- I found the blender, which was dusty from lack of use, in the back of the cupboard.
- Harper saw Mrs. Chang, who was his elementary school teacher.
- Bill Gates, who is the founder of Microsoft, is very wealthy.
In many cases, we can actually leave out the relative pronoun and the verb 'be' to make the sentence cleaner and shorter.
- Anyone over 8-years-old can use the pool.
- I found the blender, dusty from lack of use, in the back of the cupboard.
- Harper saw Mrs. Chang, his elementary school teacher.
- Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is very wealthy.
When we reduce the clause in this way, it is called an adjective phrase.
This only works with some subject clauses. When the relative clause is the object of a sentence, you cannot use adjective phrases.
| Correct | That's the building that I told you about. |
| Incorrect |
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