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Style note: Reducing relative clauses

You can often reduce adjective clauses that begin with a relative pronoun.

Example sentence: The things we cherish most are the things we might lose. Explanation: The relative pronoun that is understood in the sentence. The things [that] we cherish most are the things [that] we might lose.

Example sentence: The player ranked top seed was eliminated in the second round of the tournament. Explanation: The sentence has been reduced by omitting the phrase who was. The player [who was] ranked top seed was eliminated in the second round of the tournament.

There is some gain in compactness in these clause reductions. However, the reductions do make the sentences a little harder to read, especially for nonnative speakers, so you should consider your audience.

As you work to reduce wordiness, you will find you can often reduce phrases and clauses even further, often with some reordering or substitution:

Example sentence: We know best what we haven't been taught.

Example sentence: The top-seeded player was eliminated in the tournament's second round.

Occasionally, however, a sentence might be misread without that. In such cases, do not omit that.

Example sentence with editing: Looking out the family room window, Sarah saw her favorite tree, which she had climbed so often as a child, was gone. Revised sentence: Looking out the family room window, Sarah saw that her favorite tree, which she had climbed so often as a child, was gone.

Sarah didn’t see the tree; she saw that the tree was gone. The word that tells readers to expect a clause, not just tree, as the direct object of saw.