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Non-Restrictive Phrases/Clauses

Learn about the non-restrictive phrases and clauses rule, which helps differentiate necessary information from additional details. Explore examples and understand how this rule applies to sentences.

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Non-Restrictive Phrases/Clauses

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  1. Non-Restrictive Phrases/Clauses

  2. Rule • The Rule: Set off "non-restrictive" phrases or clauses in commas. • "Non-restrictive" means basically that the phrase or clause is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. (That is, the clause does not "restrict" the meaning of the sentence.)

  3. Who/Which • The most common application of this rule is with "who" and "which" clauses:Our dog Duke, who is the sweetest dog in the world, is addicted to Milk Bones. (The clause is not necessary to the sense of the sentence. That is, the meaning is the same without the clause.) • All dogs who are addicted to Milk Bones need to be vigilant about whining at the pantry door. (The clause is necessary to the sense of the sentence, because the meaning changes completely without the "who" clause.)

  4. Here is the most basic illustration of this idea: • Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations did not interest me.Charles Dickens wrote many novels. You are referring to a particular one of them; therefore Great Expectations is not set off in commas, because it is necessary to the meaning of the sentence to know that we are talking about this novel and not another of Dickens' novel. • On the other hand:Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, did not interest me.

  5. Example: • We end up using this rule quite often when it comes to appositives about siblings---and it always requires you to look at exactly how the sentence is phrased and how many brothers or sisters a person has or had.John F. Kennedy's brother Robert served as his attorney general. (JFK had several brothers.)BUT: John F. Kennedy's older brother, Joe, was killed in World War II. (JFK had only one older brother.)

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