Participle clauses reduce the relative clause to either an -ing participle or an -ed participle.
…one of the hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs (who are) launching startups in Palo Alto.
They recommend four to twelve doses (which are) given a few days apart.
Other common verbs that are used to reduce the relative clause are use, base, cause, make and concern.
Infinitive clauses are less frequent than participle clauses. An infinitive clause often suggests that it is important to do something.
A problem to watch for is loosening of the joints at the top of the legs.
(…instead of A problem which you should watch for is…)
There are some basic psychological principles to bear in mind.
(…instead of There are some basic psychological principles which you should bear in mind.)
When a relative clause contains have, you can reduce it to a prepositional phrase using with:
Parliament is a national governing body with the highest level of legislative power.
(…instead of …a national governing body which has the highest level…)
When a relative clause contains is + preposition, you can reduce it to a simple prepositional phrase:
A second central concept (which is) at the core of much developmental research is…
You can give further information about a person or thing by using a noun phrase that describes or identifies them or it (see 2.302).
The Marianas Trench, 11,034 m at its deepest point, is deeper than the height of Mount Everest.
A quicker alternative, a simple search program, makes it easier to search the corpus.
This is common when you are introducing or defining acronyms, abbreviations or technical terms.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has issued a draft report.
non-defining relative clauses
A non-defining relative clause is not needed to identify the person, thing or group you are talking about; instead, it gives the reader more information about the subject, or it evaluates or comments on the subject (see 8.85).
Dark matter, which may be invisible for many reasons, has become increasingly important.
The verb phrase
In general, academic English is less concerned with events, and more concerned with what has been learnt from the event. Therefore, the focus of the sentence moves away from the verb phrase to the noun phrase. Verbs are often nominalized (= made into nouns) – see Nominalization.
The range of tenses used in academic English is more restricted than in everyday English: simple forms of verbs are used more frequently; progressive forms, the past perfect, and the future perfect are used less often.
The tense you use shows your attitude and other people’s attitude to the subject. For example, it shows whether a piece of research or an idea is still generally accepted or not.
the present simple
The present simple is commonly used in the following ways.
The two theories are known as ‘ridge push’ versus ‘slab pull’ respectively.
The aim is to direct the energy of the radiation to kill the cancerous cells.
When water freezes, it expands.
The results show that only a portion of world trade is affected.
Shakespeare, in King Lear, emphasizes the social causes of madness.
the present perfect
The present perfect is commonly used in the following ways.
There is a vast literature looking at development issues, the main elements of which have been reviewed here.
Little research has been done on microscopic plastics.
In light of the evidence that has been reviewed thus far in this book…
the past simple
The past simple is commonly used in the following ways:
The almost universal view was that the liver was the main organ in the blood system.
A full study was conducted with a sample of managers from the UK head office.
Their research showed that over half of all cancer cases could be prevented.
will
Will is used to state your intention.
This study will examine the effects of depression.
Will often occurs with an adverb such as often or probably, because academic writers must avoid suggesting that their personal ideas and theories are facts.
The desert regions will probably become more extensive.
Changes in practice will often be the result of a long political process.
linking verbs
Linking verbs are used for describing a situation or a quality, and so they occur frequently in academic English. Linking verbs that are commonly used in academic English are be, become, look, remain, seem, appear, prove, and represent (see 3.126 to 3.181).
At first glance, the system seems overwhelmingly complex.
Scientists fear that some viruses may prove challenging to deal with.