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I have two examples of ending past versions. My question is Are there any good ones left is as same as Are there any good ones which are left and we omit which are there? Which English rule is that?

Examples:

  • Are there any good ones left?

  • The items described below are eligible:

Edwin Ashworth
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nixiehi
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  • These are the examples:
    Are there any good ones left?
    The items are eligible described below     – nixiehi Apr 15 '20 at 09:47
  • Are there any good ones left? = Are there any good ones that are left? -> Left is the past participle of a passive construction. ++ “The items are eligible described* below:” This seems to be substandard English. You probably mean “The items described* below are eligible: = “The items that are described* below* are eligible:” described is also the past participle of a passive construction. – Greybeard Apr 15 '20 at 10:25
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    Does this answer your question? Implicit 'which is', 'which are'. Looking up 'post-modifier', 'reduced relative' here leads to many similar questions. // Note that one often has to guess at the deleted words. 'good ones that you have left'? – Edwin Ashworth Apr 15 '20 at 11:37
  • When we say, "The items described below..." it can have more than one connotation, like: The items that are described below...; The items that have been described below...; The items that were described below..., The items that will be described below... It leaves enough confusion on what is correct. – Ram Pillai Apr 15 '20 at 14:30

1 Answers1

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The sentence Are there any good ones left is an example of a reduced relative clause.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (p353) defines a reduced clause as:

a shortened clause, particularly a non-finite or verbless clause with a postmodifying function that can be interpreted as a relative clause with its relative pronoun and finite verb omitted, e.g.

  • Anyone scared of heights is advised not to attempt to climb this tower. (= Anyone who is scared of heights ...)

The general term for the omission of words that are recoverable by the listener or reader is ellipsis.

Note: Expanding the last sentence The items are eligible described below to include the pronoun and verb results in:

  • The items are eligible which are described below.

The expansion is itself of dubious grammaticality. The original sentence is of certain ungrammaticality.

Shoe
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  • +1 for the interesting spotlight on how native speakers might almost be prepared to accept the "non-reduced" version of the relative clause, but would have no qualms about dismissing the "reduced" version out of hand. – FumbleFingers Apr 15 '20 at 12:01