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Restrictive elements of a sentence are expressions which describe nouns/pronouns in a specific sense. This literary technique is used to restrict focus to a particular context, thus specifying the meaning of what is being expressed. A sentence remains grammatically intact but loses its intended meaning without its restrictive element. Restrictive elements include: • Adjective Clauses, which follow the noun/pronoun that they are specifying. • Adjective Phrases, which act as adjectives but denote verbs or prepositions. • Appositives, which give a more specific name to their preceding noun.
AC – The fish that he ate yesterday made him nauseous. AP – My sister put me to sleep with her talk of Aristotle's writings. A – Oliver Hart's song Here For Youchanged the way that I view the world.
Notice that • these elements are essential to the sentences' meanings. • restrictive elements DO NOT use commas. • restrictive adjective clauses use the word “that” (rather than “which”).
Non-restrictive elements are expressions which contribute supplementary, although inessential, information to a noun/pronoun in which the intended meaning has already been given sufficient limit or definition. The meaning is not affected if one removes a non-restrictive element from a sentence, however such techniques are useful for providing extra tidbits of info.
AC – I study anatomy for six hours every day, which is very exhausting. AP – The cat kept chasing the laser pen's beam around the house, with its eyes steadily transfixed. A – Anna's most recent boyfriend, Carlos, seemed very nice but was a bit crazy.
Notice that • these non-restrictive elements are only adding inessential details. • non-restrictive elements DO include comma usage. • non-restrictive adjective clauses use the word “which” (rather than “that”).
Correct the following sentences -The car company, Ford, does not design very good engines. -I hate dogs that are vicious, and mean. -The man at Walmart was very creepy, with his long hair, and psychotic statements. - Fido the dog that bit me last week is usually very friendly. - With a pen in his hand and a smile on his face President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, which would have destroyed many ecosystems in North America. - Her near-death experience changed her entire worldview which made her a much wiser person.
Introductory clauses are groups of words that usually tell when, where, why, how, or under what conditions the main action of the sentence occurred. A comma is used in this case to tell readers that the introductory clause has come to a close and that the main part of the sentence is about to begin.
It was time to go, but Wesley was still getting dressed. In a quiet village in the snowy mountains, an old woman put the finishing touches on her great-granddaughter’s quilt While contemplating the vast complexities of the universe and how they affected her,Jessie lost track of time and wound up standing in the shower for over an hour.
Correct the following sentences - Because of the drought that had begun two weeks ago there was now no water in the reservoirs. - Seeing that there was no vodka on the shelf Samuel went down to the cellar to find some more. - The laptop’s battery was dying quickly but there wasn’t an open power outlet in the entire coffee house.
A parenthetical expression is not part of its sentence's central idea, however it can provide useful pieces of information. It can interrupt a sentence, or it can be placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence. These are most commonly separated from a sentence with commas, however one may also use parentheses or em-dashes depending on where one is placing emphasis.
I ate a burger for lunch – essentially a pile of carbs, fat, and protein – before returning to work. My friends like to go really crazy during the weekends (however they are somehow able to regain their energy by Monday). There is a popular stereotype that all upperclassmen act their age, nonetheless there are many exceptions to this widely held belief.
Correct the following sentences: -I am finished with my homework as far as I know. -Excluding my Uncle Brian my mother's entire family is catholic. -Yosemite National Park a large valley which lies in the heart of California is ineffably beautiful.
Lists of adjectives are used to modify nouns. When two or more adjectives modify a noun separately, they are called coordinate adjectives and should be separated from one another by commas. Another way to determine whether or not adjectives are coordinate is if they can be connected with the word “and”.
The stone walls were cold, gray slabs of concrete. Cold, miserable, humid, this is how the town was left when the rain came through. Typing the eight-page paper was one of the most tiresome, tedious, boring tasks that Shelby had undertaken that day.
Adjectives that do not modify the noun separately are called cumulative adjectives. These types of adjectives will support one another by modifying the other adjectives in the sentence in reverse order.
The long dark night would not soon be over. Five small purple figs fell into the boy’s lap. In the back of the walk-in freezer, there was a large frozen turkey that had expired three years ago.
References • Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker, pages 270-284
