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Sitifan Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSE

1. The man who drives the car every day is my brother.
2. The man who drove the car yesterday is my brother.
3. The man driving the car every day is my brother.
4. The man driving the car yesterday is my brother.
Which of the above sentences is NOT acceptable?


PS. The typo in #4 has been corrected.
  

Top answer

They are all acceptable, but I suggest that # 2 and #4 (which needs a capital 'T') seem a bit awkward with the mixed tenses.

  • They are all acceptable, but I suggest that # 2 and #4 (which needs a capital 'T') seem a bit awkward with the mixed tenses.
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11 Answers
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They are all acceptable, but I suggest that # 2 and #4 (which needs a capital 'T') seem a bit awkward with the mixed tenses.
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Typical mistake: *The boy bringing the milk has been ill.
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After a noun which refers to something 'definite' (a particular person, thing, group, etc), a participle clause usually has a progressive meaning.
I like the girl sitting on the rig
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Sure, but so what?

3. The man who is driving the car every day is my brother.
4. The man was driving the car yesterday is my brother.
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3. The man who is driving the car every day is my brother.
4. The man who was driving the car yesterday is my brother.
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Yes; I'm typing too fast and trying to get some editing work done here at home at the same time!
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5. A tile which fell from a roof shattered into fragments.
6. A tile falling from a roof shattered into fragments.

Does #5 have the same meaning as #6?
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Mister Micawber.

3. The man who is driving the car every day is my brother.
4. The man who was driving the car yesterday is my brother.
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Do you mean that 1 and 2 don't have the same meanings as 3 and 4 respectively?
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You have to read this part carefully:
To express a non-progressive meaning, use a relative clause.
The boy who brings the milk has been ill.
Mr. Swan never says it is WRONG to write "The boy bringing the milk has been ill." He simply states that "to express a non-progressive meaning, use a relative clause."

1. The boy who brings the milk has been ill.
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When a noun has a more general, less ‘definite’ meaning, participle clauses are possible with ‘simple-tense’ meanings as well as progressive meanings. Compare:

Women looking after small children generally get paid about ?1.50 an hour. (= Women who look . . .)
The woman who looks after my small brother gets paid about ?1.50 a
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In the first edition of Practical English Usage, Michael Swan did say the following: Typical mistake: *The boy bringing the milk has been ill.
Swan only means that it is wrong if you are speaking of the milkman, the person who habitually brings it. However, I would challenge even that nowadays-- it's not wrong, though it may be ambiguous.

With regard to you

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