新概念英语第二册28课No Parking 中"Jasper White if one of the few people who believes in ancient myths.” 第一次介绍定语从句后紧接着就在第29课Taxi中介绍分词作定语这项语法。这并非偶然，用作定语的时候这两种结构间存在一定的关联，并且在文章中多数情况下是交替使用的。
很多情况下定语从句如果先行词（即定语从句所修饰的名词）在从句中作主语，则从句可以简化成一个分词短语。例如：People who live in urban areas are often inflicted by the polluted air and the ever-jammed traffic. (住在市区的人们经常受到污染的空气和总是拥挤的交通的折磨)这句话中 “who live in urban areas” 是用来修饰名词people的定语从句。把这个从句还原成完整的句子people live in urban areas 则可以看出先行词people在从句中用作主语。先行词在从句中作主语的定语从句可以通过省略关系代词同时在从句的第一个动词后加ing简化成一个分词短语，也就是说这句话可以省略关系代词who，同时在从句第一个动词live后加ing变成living in urban areas，那么整句话就是 People living in urban areas are often afflicted by the polluted air and the ever-jammed traffic.我们再来练习几句话：
Children who play computer games for a long time are not only hurt physically but also mentally.
长时间玩游戏的孩子不仅在生理上也在心理上受到了伤害。
Children playing computer games for a long time are not only hurt physically but also mentally.
（省略关系代词who，在从句第一个动词play 的后面加ing）
The students who have finished their homework may go home now.
完成作业的学生们可以回家了。
The students having finished their homework may go home now.
（省略who，在从句第一个动词have后加ing）
如果从句的第一个动词是be动词，那么加ing后being通常是省略掉的。例如：
The taxi is a small Swiss airplane which is called a Pilatus Porter.
这个出租车是一架小型的瑞士飞机乘坐Pilatus Porter
The taxi is a small Swiss airplane called a Pilatus Porter.
（省略which，is变成being后省略）
Children who are taken proper care of by their parents are less likely to commit crime.
受到父母恰当照顾的孩子们不太可能犯罪。
Children taken proper care of by their parents are less likely to commit crime.
从上文中我们可以看出很多先行词在从句中作主语的句子可以变成分词作定语。这一点对于雅思写作的实际意义在于它可以使我们的文章语法结构更加丰富多彩，显得语言庄重又不失灵活。雅思写作的评分标准之一是Grammatical Range and Accuracy 语法范围和准确性。要在这方面获得高分就要尽量多的在文章中使用不同的语法结构。那么同学们在作文中难免会遇到不止一处用到定语从句的情况，这时候可以考虑定语从句与分词短语交替使用，即如果上一句话是用定语从句的话则下一句话换成分词作定语，避免只用一种语法结构是文章显得单调沉闷。这一点在新概念三册课文中体现得非常明显，例如第一课中
As the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
随着证据的积累，来自伦敦动物园的专家们觉得有必要调查，因为声称看到过美洲狮的人们做出的描述非常相似。
这句话中因为后面的“people”跟随了一个定语从句，为了避免语法结构的重复前面的the descriptions 后面选用的是过去分词given（由which were given by people…这个定语从据省略which并将were变成being后省略而来）。
类似的还有这篇课文第二段的开头句，The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking black berries saw a large cat only five yards away from her.对美洲狮的搜寻开始于一个小村庄，在那里一个采黑莓的妇女看到一支大猫在离她仅有五码远的地方。这句话中由于前面village后面有定语从句“where…”修饰，因此为避免重复在woman后用现在分词picking（who picked black berries 省略who并在第一个动词pick后加ing）作定语。
综上所述，英语的写作要注意语法结构的多样性，避免连续重复使用某一个语法结构。定语从句在一些情况下可以简化作分词短语，因此可以在写作中采用一句定语从句，一句分词短语的方式是文章的语法结构更加丰富多彩。
