Your goal is to complete ten exercises in a row, or until you feel comfortable making your sentences more concise. After you have finished an exercise, click on correct answer to see a possible way of reducing the number of words in a sentence.
| Exercise 1: Eliminate any redundances |
| Knowing how to conduct an effective job interview, Hiroko is a cunning and clever woman. (Reduce from 15 to 13 words.) |
| Exercise 2: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The job tasks given to me is to perform the task of cleaning the kitchen, mopping the bathroom floor and straightening the living room. (Reduce from 24 to 19 words) |
| Exercise 3: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| I will complete my research paper in a period of a week.(Reduce from 12 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 4: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| William Jefferson Clinton, who was formerly the President of the United States, now has a job with a private company. (Reduce from 20 to 18 words.) |
| Exercise 5: Using active verbs |
| The doctor was examining the patient for symptoms of a rare form of liver cancer. (Reduce from 15 to 14 words.) |
| Exercise 6: Eliminate any redundances |
| Susan is the teacher who teaches Chemistry at her High School. (Reduce from 11 to7 words.) |
| Exercise 7: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The student is writing a writing assignment for his English Composition class. (Reduce from 12 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 8: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| To succeed it is important to be along the lines of your friend. In other words, you should be a hard worker. (Reduce from 22 to 19 words.) |
| Exercise 9: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The book which is located on the table is a Grammar book. (Reduce from 12 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 10: Using active verbs |
| When Ozzie Osbourne got on stage, the audience became excited by his performance. (Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 11: Eliminate any redundances |
| She was in deep thought and contemplation about what happened. (Reduce from 10 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 12: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Julius ran with the other runners in the 10,000 meter track event and finished third overall. (Reduce from 16 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 13: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| In my opinion, I think that he should have been sentenced to death. (Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 14: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Her purse, which was manufactured in Italy, was stolen yesterday. (Reduce from 10 to 6 words) |
| Exercise 15: Using active verbs |
| Angela was exercising on the treadmill today. (Reduce from 7 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 16: Eliminate any redundances |
| It will be a bright and sunny day at the beach. (Reduce from11 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 17: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Regretting what happened, she is deeply sorry for what happened. (Reduce from 10 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 18: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| Until such time that our professor gets released from the hospital, we will not have class. (Reduce from 16 to 13 words.) |
| Exercise 19: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Frankie Jones, who is the student who is taking Psychology 100, is a senior in college. (Reduce from 16 to 11 words.) |
| Exercise 20: Using active verbs |
| Steve was given a warning by the police officer. (Reduce from 9 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 21: Eliminate any redundances |
| He works hard completing his job assignments. (Reduce from 7 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 22: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| A student needs to have perseverance, endurance and a desire to see things through. (Reduce from 14 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 23: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| It is inappropriate for men to flirt with persons of the female gender if they are married. (Reduce from 17 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 24: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| While I was at the department store, I bought a jacket made of leather. (Reduce from 14 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 25: Using active verbs |
| Exercise 26: Eliminate any redundances |
| I want you to straighten and clean the room so that everything is clean. (Reduce from 14 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 27: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| It is a very hot day today outside. (Reduce from 8 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 28: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| Finally, the negotiators arrived at an agreement with the terrorists. (Reduce from 10 to 7.) |
| Exercise 29: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The homeowners who live on Jackson Street will have to park on a different street while their street is resurfaced. (Reduce from 20 to 15 words.) |
| Exercise 30: Using active verbs |
| Carol was ice-skating on a frozen lake. (Reduce from 7 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 31: Eliminate any redundances |
| The skin of a turtle is hard and durable. (Reduce from 9 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 32: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The soldiers fired and shot artillery at the enemy. (Reduce from 9 to 7.) |
| Exercise 33: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| I think that the government taxes its citizens too much. (Reduce from 10 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 34: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The man who was talking to the professor will not be able to take the quiz next week. (Reduce from 18 to 12 words.) |
| Exercise 35: Using active verbs |
| The patient was being examined by the doctor. (Reduce from 8 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 36: Eliminate any redundances |
| The teacher found an answer to the math problem by writing it up on the blackboard. (Reduce from 16 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 37: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The supervisor has made a demand of insisting that all employees work one hour of overtime each week. (Reduce from 18 to 11 words.) |
| Exercise 38: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| I am of the opinion that attending class by students should be optional. (Reduce from 13 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 39: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The silk blouse that Mary bought was imported from Italy. (Reduce from 10 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 40: Using active verbs |
| The Boy Scouts were soliciting donations in the neighborhood. (Reduce from 9 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 41: Eliminate any redundances |
| Professor Wong adamantly insisted that all students complete the research paper by next class. (Reduce from 14 to 12 words.) |
| Exercise 42: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| She drove her car to school. (Reduce from 6 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 43: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| As you are already aware, Steven will have to resign from our company. (Reduce from 13 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 44: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The house made of red brick was sold for a price of $150,000. (Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 45: Using active verbs |
| The runners were quickly running down the street. (Reduce from 8 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 46: Eliminate any redundances |
| Teresa earned a lot of money at her job with Johnson and Johnson. (Reduce from 13 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 47: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| John, who was in an intense argument with his mother, yelled and screamed loudly at the top of his voice. (Reduce from 20 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 48: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| You should do your homework on a daily basis. (Reduce from 9 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 49: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The television in the living room will need to be repaired. (Reduce from 11 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 50: Using active verbs |
| The neighbors were deafened by the low flying jet. (Reduce from 9 to 7 words.) |
| The low flying jet deafened the neighbors. |
| Exercise 51: Eliminate any redundances |
| You should really think about the reason why you decided to drop your Math class last week. (Reduce from 17 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 52: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| John has finished working on his homework assignment from his class. (Reduce from 11 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 53: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| You should plan ahead for your future retirement. (Reduce from 8 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 54: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The Psychology book, which comprises 379 pages, is a required textbook for the course. (Reduce from 14 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 55: Using active verbs |
| The mother was watching the baseball game in which her children were playing.(Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 56: Eliminate any redundances |
| He fished for three hours and didn't any fish. (Reduce from 9 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 57: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| After I finished the hike, I felt tired and exhausted. (Reduce from 10 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 58: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| I hope that you can please put a sufficient amount of sugar in my coffee. (Reduce from 15 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 59: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| California, which is located on the western coast of the United States, grows many agricultural crops throughout the year. (Reduce from 19 to 17 words.) |
| Exercise 60: Using active verbs |
| The class was attentively listening to the student's presentation. (Reduce from 9 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 61: Eliminate any redundances |
| The building which was built by the contractor was incredibly huge and large. (Reduce from 13 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 62: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Steven was sick and tired of the noise from his roommate. (Reduce from 11 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 63: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| There are a sufficient number of seats for the students in this class. (Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 64: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The paper which had been folded and creased was made into a paper plane by the girl. (Reduce from 15 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 65: Using active verbs |
| The book had been anxiously studied by the student. (Reduce from 9 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 66: Eliminate any redundances |
| It is both highly unlikely and improbable that our professor will postpone the test next week. (Reduce from 16 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 67: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| You should keep track of all purchases and expenditures by keeping your receipts after you do your shopping. (Reduce from 18 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 68: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| The reason why John will not talk to Steven is that he is angry that Steven used his computer without asking permission. (Reduce from 22 to 17 words.) |
| Exercise 69: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| We went to visit Angela's parents in Hemet, a city which is located 50 miles east of Riverside. (Reduce from 18 to 14 words.) |
| Exercise 70: Using active verbs |
| The chef was mixing the batter for a period of sixty seconds. (Reduce from 12 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 71: Eliminate any redundances |
| It is important that you should make a sufficient amount of food for everyone at the party. (Reduce from 17 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 72: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Due to her sickness, she is nauseous and sick to her stomach. (Reduce from 12 to 3 words.) |
| Exercise 73: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| We should not leave the gymnasium until such time the coach permits us to leave. (Reduce from 15 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 74: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Most new cars, which are equipped with air bags for front end and side end collisions, are much safer than those cars which do not have air bags. (Reduce from 28 to 17 words.) |
| Most new cars, equipped with front and side air bags , are much safer than those without them. |
| Exercise 75: Using active verbs |
| He was painting the house throughout the entire day. (Reduce from 9 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 76: Eliminate any redundances |
| In an attempt to correct the mistakes in her essay, she was editing her essay. (Reduce from 15 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 77: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Could you put these items in your arms and carry them into the house? (Reduce from 14 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 78: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| The president made some remarks of a humorous nature. (Reduce from 9 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 79: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Professor Jones, who is a professor teaching English Composition at Berkeley, has published five books. (Reduce from 15 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 80: Using active verbs |
| The carpenter constructed his house over a time of three years. (Reduce from 12 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 81: Eliminate any redundances |
| The committee debated and argued over a very important decision. (Reduce from 10 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 82: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| On our road trip, we traveled a distance of three thousand miles. (Reduce from 12 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 83: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| John resembles in appearance like his Grandfather. (Reduce from 7 to 5.) |
| Exercise 84: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Eco-Challenge, which is filmed in New Zealand, tests the endurance of many athletes. (Reduce from 13 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 85: Using active verbs |
| You should be finished painting the painting by tomorrow. (Reduce from 9 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 86: Eliminate any redundances |
| I will call my friend on the telephone as soon as possible. (Reduce from 12 to 6 words.) |
| Exercise 87: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The rock music from the concert was loud and noisy to the audience. (Reduce from 13 to 7 words.) |
| Exercise 88: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| Members of the opposition to the Republican Party have voted to abolish a tax on imported automobiles from Japan. (Reduce from 19 to 13 words.) |
| Exercise 89: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| Larry matriculated into the university with the specialization of majoring in Chemistry. (Reduce from 12 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 90: Using active verbs |
| The history question was answered by two of the students in the History class. (Reduce from 14 to 8 words.) |
| Exercise 91: Eliminate any redundances |
| John swept his driveway and cleaned dirt and debris from it. (Reduce from 11 to 4 words.) |
| Exercise 92: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| The journalist wrote a news story in the newspaper about the bank robbery in Los Angeles. (Reduce from 16 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 93: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| From my own personal experience, I believe that planting roses in the wintertime is not a good idea. (Reduce from 18 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 94: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The man who is walking to class is working for Hewlett Packard company. (Reduce from 13 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 95: Using active verbs |
| After I scored the final touchdown for my football team, I was amazing to all of the spectators. (Reduce from 18 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 96: Eliminate any redundances |
| John was awarded a prize for finishing first place in the 5,000 meter track event. (Reduce from 15 to 10 words.) |
| Exercise 97: Avoid unnecessary repetition of words |
| Due to the burns, the fireman suffered intense pain radiating up his legs, arms, chest, neck and head. (Reduce from 18 to 9 words.) |
| Exercise 98: Get rid of empty or inflated phrases |
| The teacher put an end to disruptions from students in the class. (Reduce from 12 to 5 words.) |
| Exercise 99: Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words |
| The traffic jam on the freeway stalled cars which were heading to New York City. (Reduce from 15 to 11 words.) |
| Exercise 100: Using active verbs |
| I think I was observing the eclipse too directly because my eyes were sore afterwards. (Reduce from 15 to 11 words.) |