Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses

v  Definition

       I.            Restrictive Clause.

Restrictive Clause is clause that limit or “restrict” nouns further. It is an important/highly information so it cannot be omitted from a sentence and it doesn’t use comma.

Example:

a)      The student who missed class was behind on her homework.

b)      The popcorn that Sebastian made was stale.

In the first example, the essential idea is that the specific student who missed class is the one behind on her homework and not any of the other students. In the second example, it is Sebastian’s popcorn that is stale and not anyone else’s popcorn. If the restrictive clauses are

removed, it becomes impossible to clarify what is being described.

Relative pronoun used in restrictive clauses are wh-pronoun or that :

	Subject	Object	Possessive
For  persons	Who	Whom/who	Whose
	That	That
For things	Which	Which	Whose/of which
	That	That

a)      Rrestrictive clauses : for persons

·         Subject: who or that

Eample :          1. The man who robbed you has been arrested.

                        The word man explain that there is only one man who robbed you.

                                    2. The hikers who reached the top were very tired.

It means that only the hikers who reached the top were very tired, and the other hikers who don’t reach the top weren’t very tired.

·         Object of a verb : whom or who or that

Example :        The man whom I saw told me to come back today.

The word man explain that there is only one man whom I saw and    will come back today.

                        The man who I saw told me to come back today.

                        The man that I saw told me to come back today.

           

b)      Restrictive clauses : for thing

·         Subject

            Which

            Example :        This is the picture which/that caused such a sensation.

                                    The stairs which/that lead to the cellar are rather slippery.

·         Object of a verb

            Which

            Example :        The car which/that I hired broke down.

                       

    II.            Non-restrictive Clause

Non-restrictive Clause is clause that do not limit the reference of a noun. It is just additional information so it can be omitted from a sentence and doesn’t change the original meaning of the sentence. Non-restrictive clause is set off from other clause by commas.

Examples :

a.)    The student, who is on the school hockey team, has failed her last three tests.

b.)    The popcorn, covered in butter, is stale.

In these examples, the non-restrictive clause may be removed from the sentence without preventing the reader from understanding the essential information being expressed. As well, in each case, the non-restrictive clause is separated from the main sentence with commas. These commas let the reader know that the information is extra and not grammatically essential.

Relative Pronoun that used in Non-restrictive Clause is only wh-pronoun : 

	Subject	Object	Possessive
For persons	Who	Whom/who	Whose
For things	Which	Which	Whose/of which

a.)    Non-restrictive Clause : for person

·         Subject : who

Example : The hikers, who reached the top, were very tired.

It means that not only the hikers who reached the top at that moment were very tired, but the other hikers were also very tired.

                  Peter, who had been driving all day, suggested stopping at the next town

                   Non-restrictive clause there just additional information, don’t change the original meaning of the sentence.

·         Object : whom, who

The pronoun cannot be omitted. Whom  is the correct form, though   who  is sometimes used  in conversation:

Example : Peter, whom everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent.

·         Possessive : whose

Example :  Ann, whose children are at school all day, is trying to get a job.

                 

b.)    Non-restrictive Clause : for thing

·         Subject : which

Example : 

The Titanic, which sank in April 1912, is the subject of a recent movie.

·         Object : which

Example :   She gave me this jumper, which she had knitted herself.

                   It mean that she give her jumper which she had knitted herself.

These books, which you can get at any bookshop, will give you all        the information you need.

·         Possessive : whose or of which

Example :   His house, whose windows were all broken, was a depressing sigh

                   It means that only one house whose windows were all broken

                  The car, whose handbrake wasn’t very reliable, began to slide backwards.

 This is the table of differences between Restrictive and Non-restrictive Clause.

Restrictive Clause	Non-restrictive Clause
Wh-pronoun or that	Only which only
Comma cannot suround it/ do not use comma	Additional Information
Cannot be omitted from a sentence	Commas may suround it/use comma
	Can be omitted from a sentence

 Example of Pharagraph

A lot of people believe that cities should have more parks which would allow citizens  to enjoy the natural environment better. Currently, many city dwellers have no opportunity to see trees, plants and birds and have no space to exercise, which is another benefit of open spaces in urban areas. Both of these are important because they would improve the quality of life for people who often suffer from not having a pleasant environment. For example, both old people and children would benefit from a place to exercise safely and breathe clean air at the same time.