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Writing Lab. Commas with Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements. Restrictive Elements. They are essential to a sentence because they restrict, or limit, the meaning of the words they modify. They are not set off from the sentence with commas.
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Writing Lab Commas with Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements
Restrictive Elements • They are essential to a sentence because they restrict, or limit, the meaning of the words they modify. • They are not set off from the sentence with commas. • The city which is known as the Mile High City has an altitude of one mile.
Nonrestrictive Elements • Although they add important information, they are not essential to the meaning of a sentence. • Set them off from the sentence with commas. • Denver, which is known as the Mile High City, has an altitude of one mile.
Restrictive Examples • Last summer Thaun Le visited the Vietnamese village where she was born during the war. • He who steals my purse steals trash. • A man who thinks he has no faults has one. • Good things come to people who wait.
Nonrestrictive Examples • Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister longer than anyone else in this century, made enormous changes in England. • The book, old, dirty, and dilapidated, is one of my favorites. • The weatherman, who on a rainy day had predicted sunshine, called the rain “Oregon mist.”
That’s all, folks! • This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series • Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon • To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson
