Page 538 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

sentence structure (7): understanding complicated structures 515
to Paris. (A learner might think that it was the bank manager who took
the money and went to Paris.)
One way ofdeciding what to do ifyou have difficulty in choosing the best course ofaction is to toss a coin. (Does the sentence say that the best course of action is to toss a coin?)
2 thatpictureofthechildrenstanding...
The same thing can happen when the subject of a sentence is followed by a
descriptive phrase or relative clause.
subject + descriptive phrase/clause + verb
That picture ofthe children standing in front ofthe Palace talking to the Prime Minister is wonderful. (The sentence does not say that the Prime Minister is wonderful.)
The tree that Mary gave to my younger brother is growing fast.
The reporter who first made contact with the kidnappers telephoned the
police immediately. (Who telephoned?)
3 missing relative pronouns: the film she was talking about
When relative pronouns (who/which/that) are left out (see 494.6), this can cause difficulty.
It was a question a small child could have answered. (= ... that a small child could have answered.)
The film she was talking about at Celia's party turned out to be very boring.
(= .•• the film which she was talking about ...)
The manager ofBrown's, the chemist's, has confirmed that bottles of
shampoo he took off the shelves after animal rights protesters claimed to have put bleach into them did contain poisonous chemicals. (= •.. bottles of shampoo which he took off ...)
The really important point is that because he did not invite the one man he certainly should have asked his father was angry. (Does the sentence say that he should he have asked his father?)
4 missing that: The man daimed he was ...
We often leave out the conjunction that after verbs (see 584). This can make complicated sentences more difficult to follow.
The man who was arrested claimed he was somewhere else at the time ofthe robbery. (= .•• claimed that he was ...)
She insisted she thought he knew she was on the train. (= She insisted that she thought that he knew that ...)
In short news reports, that is sometimes left out after nouns.
Officials did not accept his claim he was innocent. (= .•. that he was
innocent.)
The Minister denied the suggestion he had concealed information from Parliament. (= ... the suggestion that he ...)
5 past participles that look like past tenses:
the children asked ... told the police
Past participles (e.g. arrested, accused) are often used descriptively after nouns,
rather like reduced relative clauses (see 498.10). When these look the same as
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