- Peter Jones , who plays goalkeeper for our village football team, has worked at his father's greengrocers for twenty years. (The shaded text is a non-restrictive clause. It describes "Peter Jones," but it does not identify him. It is merely additional information about him. Deleting this clause would not affect the meaning.)
- The man who plays goalkeeper for our village football team has worked at his father's greengrocers for twenty years. (The bold text is a restrictive clause. It describes "the man," and it identifies him. It is not just additional information. It is essential for meaning.)
- I went to London with John Baker, who lives next door. (This is just additional information. It's a non-restrictive clause.)
- Betty, who is still on the ferry, will arrive before 4 o'clock. (This is just additional information. It's a non-restrictive clause.)
- Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. (Historian Russell Lynes)
- Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs. (Journalist P J O'Rourke)
- She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit. (Playwright W. Somerset Maugham)
- You can talk about anything if you go about it the right way, which is never malicious. (comedian Rodney Carrington)
- My brother, who lives in New York, caught coronavirus. (This sentence suggests I have just one brother. I've also told you that he lives in New York, but I could have omitted that information. The shaded text is a non-restrictive clause.)
- My brother who lives in New York caught coronavirus. (In this sentence, the bold text is a restrictive clause. It specifies that I'm talking about my New York-based brother, i.e., not a different brother.)
- I've enjoyed the benefits of this country, which has been very good to me. (Attorney Wendy Long) (This is non-restrictive clause. It does not define the country (the word "this" does that job). The shaded clause is just additional information.)
- How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? (French President Charles De Gaulle) (This is a restrictive clause. It defines the country. Those following British English writing conventions are okay with a restrictive clause headed by "which," but most Americans would use "that" instead of "which."
- Do you have an adjective clause headed by "which" or "who"? Would you happily put it in parentheses? Yes? It's non-restrictive. Offset it with commas or, if you think it helps, dashes or parentheses (round brackets).
- Knowing your options for parenthetical punctuation is a useful writing tool.
Non-restrictive Clause
Non-restrictive Clauses Contrast with Restrictive Clauses
Here is another example of a non-restrictive clause.Got it? Take a quick test.
Your Choice of Punctuation
You are not limited to commas when offsetting a non-restrictive clause. You can use parentheses (brackets) or dashes too. (See Reason 2 below.)Read more about your choices of punctuation for offsetting a non-restrictive clause.
More Examples of Non-restrictive Clauses
Here are some more examples of non-restrictive clauses:Some More Examples of Non-restrictive Clauses
Here are some more examples of non-restrictive clauses in real-life quotes (non-restrictive clauses shaded):Why Should I Care about Non-restrictive Clauses?
When looking at writing errors, there are more issues associated with restrictive clauses than non-restrictive clauses. As a general observation, non-restrictive clauses do not cause too many snags. Nevertheless, here are two good reasons to give non-restrictive clauses a little more thought.(Reason 1) Know when to use a comma before "who" or "which."
Writers often ask whether to put a comma before "who" and "which." The answer to that question is sometimes yes and sometimes no. It depends whether the "who" or "which" heads a restrictive clause or a non-restrictive clause.Look at this example:
(Reason 2) Know when to use a comma before "who" or "which."
Commas are the most common type of parenthetical punctuation, but, for certain effects, you can use others. Here are some guidelines:Parenthetical Punctuation | |
---|---|
commas | (pro) normal-looking sentence (con) commas are often confused with other commas in the sentence |
brackets | (pro) parenthesis easily seen (con) brackets make official letters look a little unorganized |
dashes | (pro) parenthesis easily seen (con) dashes look a little stark |
Read more about your choices of punctuation for offsetting a non-restrictive clause.
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