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The distinction between restrictive, or integrated, relative clauses and non-restrictive, or supplementary, relative clauses in English is made both in speaking (through prosody), and in writing (through punctuation): a non-restrictive relative clause is surrounded by pauses in speech and usually by commas in writing, whereas a restrictive ...
A non-restrictive relative clause may have a whole sentence as its antecedent rather than a specific noun phrase; for example: The cat was allowed on the bed, which annoyed the dog . Here, which refers not to the bed or the cat but to the entire proposition expressed in the main clause, namely the situation of the cat being allowed on the bed.
English does not generally mark modifiers for restrictiveness, with the exception of relative clauses: non-restrictive ones are set off in speech through intonation (with a pause beforehand and an uninterrupted melody [dubious – discuss]) and in writing by using commas, whereas restrictive clauses are not.
In the second example, the non-restrictive relative clause who have never known your family describes you in the independent clause, You see them standing around you. A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions like a noun. A noun clause may function as the subject of a clause, a predicate nominative, an object or an appositive.
A clause typically contains a subject (a noun phrase) and a predicate (a verb phrase in the terminology used above; that is, a verb together with its objects and complements). A dependent clause also normally contains a subordinating conjunction (or in the case of relative clauses, a relative pronoun, or phrase containing one).
If another prepositional phrase is introduced, ambiguity increases, but when commas separate each clause and phrase, the restrictive clause can remain a modifier of the walk: They took a walk in the park on a cool day that was very relaxing. They took a walk, in the park, on a cool day, that was very relaxing.
The punctuation of an adjective clause depends on whether it is essential (restrictive) or nonessential (nonrestrictive) and uses commas accordingly. Essential clauses are not set off with commas; nonessential clauses are. An adjective clause is essential if the information it contains is necessary to the meaning of the sentence:
Around a necessary, restrictive clause, the following commas are incorrect: The painting, that I finished yesterday, is still wet to the touch. Before a conjunctive adverb that joins two independent clauses, the following comma is incorrect: The ultraviolet (UV) index is high, therefore use sunscreen.