Non-restrictive clauses provide additional information and should start with “which” or “who,” and be punctuated by commas. They are not essential to the sentence’s meaning. Restrictive clauses are necessary and often start with “that.”
A nonrestrictive clause describes a noun or pronoun, providing additional information that is not necessarily essential to the meaning of the sentence. According to grammar rules, non-restrictive clauses should start with the words which or who. A non-restrictive clause must also be punctuated by commas.
Usually a sentence will still make logical sense when the non-restrictive clause is removed. The non-restrictive clause offers details that help paint a visual picture or clarify the idea of the speaker or writer. Fundamentally, however, a non-restrictive clause could be seen as the icing on the cake.
For example, “The car, which was a large SUV, was traveling so fast that Anita got scared and jumped off the side of the road into a ditch.” If the non-restrictive clause is removed from this sentence, the meaning is still clear. It is not essential that the reader know the car was a large SUV to understand the sentence.
Choosing the correct pronoun to use with a non-restrictive clause can be confusing. Grammatical rules state that a non-restrictive clause should begin with the word “who,” unless the clause refers to a person, in which case it should begin with the word “who.” For example, “A driver, who was traveling well above the speed limit in his SUV, spooked Anita so badly that she jumped off the side of the road and into a ditch.”
Unlike non-restrictive clauses, restrictive clauses are required for the meaning of a sentence. Restrictive clauses that do not describe a person should, according to the rules of English grammar, begin with the word that. An example of a restrictive clause is: “The car that scared Anita so much that she jumped off the side of the road didn’t slow down.” This sentence doesn’t make much sense if the restrictive clause is removed, because it contains too much vital information. Many people prefer to use which instead of that in a restrictive clause, and this usage is commonly accepted. For example, “The car that scared Anita so badly that she jumped off the side of the road didn’t slow down.”
Non-restrictive clauses in the middle of a sentence must be punctuated by two commas. For example, “The car, which turned out to be stolen, was later found abandoned by the police.” Another example is: “Incredibly, Anita, who was just injured by the ordeal, continued her walk.”
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