phoenixcollege<learningcenter<owl<punctuation;commas<rule8
phoenixcollege<learningcenter<owl<punctuation;commas<rule8
 COMMAS |
| Rule #8 Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses |
Rule:Use commas with nonrestrictive clauses.
Example: John Jones, who has five children, is my boss.
The nonrestrictive clause is who has five children.
It is a clause because it has a subject (who) and a verb(has). It is nonrestrictive because it describes a noun (John) by giving extra information. This information is not needed to identify the subject. The clause begins with the relative pronoun who and follows the word it describes. Another name for nonrestrictive clause is nonessential clause.
Usually nonrestrictive clauses describe proper nouns. If you take out the nonrestrictive clause, you still identify the subject.
Example: John Jones, who has five children, is my boss.
The comma signals that the information is extra.
The comma comes before the relative pronoun and after the last word in the clause if the nonrestrictive clause comes in the middle of the sentence.
Example: William Shakespeare, who was born in England, was a great playwright.
The clause could come at the end. Then you write only one comma.
Example: A great playwright was William Shakespeare, who was born in England.
Sometimes a clause could be both nonrestrictive and restrictive. The commas change the meaning.
Example: Nonrestrictive- Teachers, who are trained to use computers, take their classes to the computer lab.
This means all teachers are trained to use the computers.
Example: Restrictive- Teachers who are trained to use computers take their classes to the computer lab.
This means only the teachers who are trained can take their classes to the computer lab.
*Writing Tip: Know the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Do not use commas with restrictive clauses. Restrictive clauses usually describe indefinite pronouns.
Example: Nonrestrictive- Mary Smith, who sits next to me, is very smart.
Example:Restrictive- The student who sits next to me is very smart.
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