Understanding Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are phrases that provide extra information about a noun. They begin with relative pronouns like *who, whom, whose, which, that*, or relative adverbs like *where, when, why*.
Paraphrasing Strategies
1. Use a prepositional phrase:
* Original: The book that I read last week was fascinating.
* Paraphrased: The book read last week was fascinating.
2. Use an adjective or adjectival phrase:
* Original: The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
* Paraphrased: The neighboring woman is a doctor.
3. Use a participial phrase:
* Original: The painting which was stolen from the museum was recovered.
* Paraphrased: The stolen painting from the museum was recovered.
4. Use a reduced relative clause (without the relative pronoun):
* Original: The people who are waiting in line are impatient.
* Paraphrased: The people waiting in line are impatient.
5. Use a different sentence structure:
* Original: The city where I was born is beautiful.
* Paraphrased: I was born in a beautiful city.
Important Considerations
* Maintain meaning: The paraphrase should convey the same information as the original relative clause.
* Sentence flow: The paraphrased sentence should sound natural and grammatically correct.
* Formal vs. informal: The level of formality may influence the type of paraphrase you choose.
Examples
* Original: The movie that we watched last night was scary.
* Paraphrased: The movie we watched last night was scary. (reduced relative clause)
* Original: The house which is on the corner is for sale.
* Paraphrased: The corner house is for sale. (prepositional phrase)
* Original: The student whose essay won the prize is very talented.
* Paraphrased: The prize-winning essay writer is very talented. (adjectival phrase)
Practice makes perfect! The more you experiment with different paraphrasing techniques, the better you'll become at crafting concise and effective sentences.