In the sentence This is the man I SAW, the clause I SAW is an example of which type?

• A. Reduced relative clause
• B. Relative clause
• C. Noun clause
• D. Adverbial clause

Answer: (A)

A reduced relative clause is formed when the relative pronoun that would introduce the clause is omitted, leaving a shorter clause that still describes the noun. In this sentence, the noun is “the man,” and the following clause “I saw” tells which man. If you included the relative pronoun, you’d have “the man who I saw” or “the man that I saw.” Dropping the relative pronoun gives the compact form, which is why this example is classified as a reduced relative clause.

This isn’t a noun clause, because the clause isn’t functioning as a noun on its own. It also isn’t an adverbial clause, since it doesn’t modify the verb of the main clause (time, place, reason, etc.). It’s specifically a relative clause whose relative pronoun has been omitted.