LoginRestrictive and Non-restrictive Clauses
Restrictive clauses and phrases are necessary while non-restrictive clauses are not necessary for the sentence to have a meaningful thought.
What Are Restrictive and Non-restrictive Structures?
A restrictive clause, also known as an essential clause, defines or restricts the meaning of the noun or pronoun it modifies and is necessary to the sentence's meaning. It provides essential information that is needed to identify the person, place, or thing being referred to.
A non-restrictive clause, also known as a non-essential clause, provides additional but non-essential information about the noun or pronoun it modifies. It is not necessary to the sentence's meaning and can be removed without changing the sentence's overall meaning.
Restrictive and Non-restrictive Structures: Types
There are two types of restrictive and non-restrictive structures:
Relative clauses and appositives are nominal and adjectival structures that are used to give further information about a noun.
Relative Clauses as Restrictive Clauses
At times relative clauses are necessary to provide a precise description of something and using them makes a difference in the meaning of the sentence. Here are some examples:
The man
Those books
Appositives as Non-restrictive Phrases
Relative Clauses as Non-restrictive Clauses
Relative clauses can sometimes include unessential information about a noun, and in these cases, they are set off by commas. Removing them from the sentence would not affect the sentence's meaning or grammatical correctness. Here are a few examples:
Sam,
These nice people,
American English or British English?
In American English, 'that' is considered a restrictive relative pronoun and does not require a comma, while 'which' is typically considered non-restrictive and requires a comma. However, in British English, "which" can be used for both restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses. It is important to note that the rules for using "that" remain the same in both American and British English.
Punctuation Rules
Keep in mind that restrictive relative clauses are not set off by commas, this means that they do not need any commas on either side. On the other hand, non-restrictive relative clauses are used between two commas when they are used in the middle of the sentence and preceded by a comma when they are used at the end of the sentence. Here are a few examples:
The girl
A restrictive clause does not need any commas.
My friend,
A non-restrictive clause used in the middle of the sentence.
I called John,
A non-restrictive clause used at the end of the sentence, preceded by a comma.
Appositives as Restrictive Phrases
Appositives are typically used to provide additional information and are not essential to the sentence's meaning. However, when referring to a specific member of a group, a proper noun may be used as a restrictive appositive to clarify the reference. Here are the examples:
My friend,
My brother,
In this example, the person has more than one brother and uses a proper noun as an appositive to clarify which one is being talked about.
Appositives as Non-restrictive Phrases
Non-restrictive appositive nouns or noun phrases provide additional information but are not essential to the sentence's meaning. Omitting them from the sentence would not affect the sentence's meaning or cause any difficulty in understanding it. Check out the examples:
Marta,
The best chef ever in this area,
Punctuation Rules
When non-restrictive appositive nouns or noun phrases are used at the beginning of a sentence, they are followed by a comma; when they are used in the middle of the sentence, they are set off by two commas on either side; and when they appear at the end of a sentence, they are preceded by a comma. Check out the examples:
The last station,
I bought the chocolate you like,
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