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Restrictive vs Nonrestrictive Clauses

This document discusses restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses. Restrictive clauses are essential to identify the noun, while nonrestrictive clauses provide extra information about the noun. Restrictive clauses do not use punctuation, while nonrestrictive clauses are set off by commas. Relative pronouns like who, whom, which, and whose introduce relative clauses and indicate whether the noun is the subject or object of the following verb or indicates possession.

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Risma Zahrotus Sholihah
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114 views2 pages

Restrictive vs Nonrestrictive Clauses

This document discusses restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses. Restrictive clauses are essential to identify the noun, while nonrestrictive clauses provide extra information about the noun. Restrictive clauses do not use punctuation, while nonrestrictive clauses are set off by commas. Relative pronouns like who, whom, which, and whose introduce relative clauses and indicate whether the noun is the subject or object of the following verb or indicates possession.

Uploaded by

Risma Zahrotus Sholihah
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GRAMMAR 

       Restrictive & Nonrestrictive Clauses
   
A relative clause starts with a relative pronoun. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun 
previously used in the discussion. Words such as ​ he/she/it ​
or​
 him/her/they/them/we/us ​
are 
pronouns because they are used to replace a noun previously used in the sentence or another 
pronoun that was used before them.  
 
Relative clauses replace and explain the noun that precedes or follows them. They open with a 
relative pronoun: ​
who, which, that, whom ​ or​
 whose. 

A relative pronoun explains the noun modified by a relative clause. It introduces a relative 
clause. 

Examples: 

● The man ​ who called you​  is my yoga instructor. 


● The girl ​
that called you​
 wants to meet you tomorrow. 
● The car ​
which hit the tree​  was also hit from behind by a truck. 
● The girl ​
whom you met ​ there is my roommate. 
● The student ​
whose phone rings in class​  ​
must stand up and apologize. 
● My brother ​whose phone​  just rang is a geology doctor. 

Who, that, and which​
 ​
are subjects of the verb that follows them. 

Whom​
 ​
is the object of the verb that comes after it in the sentence. 

Whose​
 ​
indicates possession; the noun that precedes it possesses the object that follows it. 

 
Restrictive Relative Clauses 

A relative clause is defining when its input is necessary to understand the noun it explains; 
without it, the noun does not make much sense. 

Examples: 

● The woman ​ who lives across the street​ watches my cat when I go on vacation. 
● The person ​
whom I called today ​ was my high school teacher. 
● The car ​
that hit the cat​
 was red and yellow. 
● The school ​
whose Writing Center we are visiting​  is really impressive. 

Restrictive clauses are necessary, so they do not use any punctuation to set them off from the 
noun they are modifying.   

Who ​
is only used for people and replaces subject nouns.  

Whom ​
is only used for people and replaces object nouns. 

That ​
is used for places, things, and ideas. 

Whose​
 is used for people, places, things, and ideas. 

Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses 

A relative clause is non­defining when it can be deleted without affecting the meaning of the 
sentence; in this case it should be surrounded by commas. 

Examples: 

● Ms. Johnson​,​
 ​
who is very beautiful,​
 is a smart teacher. 
● The plumber​, whom I called this morning, ​ is already here! 
● The car​
, which I was driving in my senior year,​  caught fire on I­35 in Missouri. 
● The car​
, whose driver jumped out before the accident,​  was completely destroyed. 

Nonrestrictive clauses are not necessary, so they are placed within commas to set them off from 
the noun they are modifying.   

Who ​
is only used for people and replaces subject nouns.  

Whom ​
is only used for people and replaces object nouns. 

Which​
 is used for places, things, and ideas. 

Whose​
 is used for people, places, things, and ideas. 

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