How to shorten these clauses?

[xpert]

Hi there!

In the sentence ...

Food that contains fruits and vegetables is healthy.
We can cross out the word (that) and then we add -ing the verb as follows

Food containing fruits and vegetables is healthy.
(Food) is Subject

We cannot add -ing to sentences beginning with an Object however, we can only cross out [that-which-who]

Examples: The man who I met yesterday was my teacher. We cannot say:
The man meeting yesterday.

My question is ... In the sentence
The first army that met the advancing Arabs was the Roman Army. Should we say

(1) The first army met the advancing Arabs was ... (which) out OR
(2) The first army meeting the advancing Arabs was ...

As far as I'm concerned, (1) is correct because if we say meeting, the tense changes from past to present.

xpert
ELT

[Lovely_teacher]

in my opinion you are right! 1st is correct

[David L.]

The first army that met the advancing Arabs was the Roman Army. Should we say

(1) The first army met the advancing Arabs was ... (which) out OR
Incorrect grammatically. You might write, The first army to meet the advancing Arabs was... OR The first army that met the advancing Arabs was...
(2) The first army meeting the advancing Arabs was ...
Correct grammatically. This is also correct in the context of what we call the Historic Present Tense. This may be a little too advanced to introduce in early stages of learning English, but look at this passage:
The armies of the Greek nation camped (past tense) by the river. At dawn, they crossed (past tense) the river, meeting the advancing Arabs head-on. The most bloody battle in Greek history ensued (past tense), won only by the brilliant strategy of General Theos. He orders (present tense) his troops to take the high ground of Zeus Mountain, and in response, the Arab leader surrounds (present tense) the base of the hill. Wave after wave of troops sweep (present tense) up the hill, only to be driven back. Suddenly, the Arab leader changes (present tense...
Using the Historic Present gives the reader the sense as if it is being described as it happens.

[BobK]

Originally Posted by David L.

...
(2) The first army meeting the advancing Arabs was ...
[b]Correct grammatically...

And if xpert is not happy with the tense (I'm not sure why), s/he could say 'The first army to meet...'; it still shortens the clause, although it doesn't change the word-count.

b