Identify all the relative clauses in the following sentences. Which ones are restrictive and which are non-restrictive? How do you know?
a. My sister Mary [who lives in Florida] is coming to visit us. = non-restrictive
b. The girl [who had the most points] won the contest. = nonrestrictive
c. Vancouver, [which is in British Columbia,] is a lovely city. = restrictive
d. The child [whose mother was later] was getting nervous. = nonrestrictive
e. The books [that are on the shelf] are for you. = restrictive
I have put the relative clauses in square brackets. However, I'm not sure I am correct in relation to which are restrictive and non-restrictive. Am I right?
Restrictive = no need for commas; it's information that is needed in the sentence.
Non-restrictive = need for commas; it's information that is extra in the sentence.
a.
If you have two sisters who live in Florida, then it's restrictive. If there's only one, then it's non-restrictive.
b.
The clause is identified properly, but ...
Re-think b-e, and let us know what you think.
http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaClauses__Restrictive_and_Nonrest.htm
a. My sister Mary [who lives in Florida] is coming to visit us. = non-restrictive
The relative clause "who lives in Florida" provides additional information about the noun "Mary," but it is not essential to identifying which sister is being referred to. Removing the relative clause does not change the meaning of the sentence, so it is non-restrictive.
b. The girl [who had the most points] won the contest. = non-restrictive
The relative clause "who had the most points" provides extra information about the noun "girl," but it is not necessary to identify which girl won the contest. Removing the relative clause does not alter the meaning of the sentence, making it non-restrictive.
c. Vancouver, [which is in British Columbia,] is a lovely city. = restrictive
The relative clause "which is in British Columbia" provides essential information to distinguish Vancouver from other cities. Removing the relative clause would result in an incomplete and inaccurate sentence, making it restrictive.
d. The child [whose mother was later] was getting nervous. = non-restrictive
The relative clause "whose mother was later" gives additional information about the noun "child," but it doesn't affect the identity of the child. Removing the relative clause does not change the meaning of the sentence, so it is non-restrictive.
e. The books [that are on the shelf] are for you. = restrictive
The relative clause "that are on the shelf" is necessary to identify which books are being referred to. Without the relative clause, the sentence would become ambiguous or incomplete, indicating that it is restrictive.
Your identification of the relative clauses and your attempt to determine whether they are restrictive or non-restrictive is mostly correct. Here is the breakdown:
a. My sister Mary [who lives in Florida] is coming to visit us. = non-restrictive
In this sentence, the relative clause "who lives in Florida" provides additional information about the subject "My sister Mary." Since this information is not essential to understanding who the speaker is referring to, it is non-restrictive.
b. The girl [who had the most points] won the contest. = non-restrictive
Similar to the previous sentence, the relative clause "who had the most points" adds extra information about the subject "The girl." It is not necessary to the sentence's meaning and thus considered non-restrictive.
c. Vancouver, [which is in British Columbia,] is a lovely city. = restrictive
In this sentence, the relative clause "which is in British Columbia" provides essential information to identify which Vancouver is being referred to. Without this clause, the sentence would still make sense but might lead to ambiguity. Therefore, it is considered restrictive.
d. The child [whose mother was late] was getting nervous. = non-restrictive
Once again, the relative clause "whose mother was late" adds additional information but is not essential for understanding which child is being referred to. Hence, it is non-restrictive.
e. The books [that are on the shelf] are for you. = restrictive
The relative clause "that are on the shelf" is crucial to understanding which books the speaker is referring to. Without this information, the sentence would be unclear. Thus, it is considered restrictive.
To identify restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, you can ask yourself whether removing the clause would significantly change the meaning or clarity of the sentence. If the sentence could still stand with the clause removed, it is non-restrictive. However, if removing the clause would lead to ambiguity or loss of crucial information, it is considered restrictive.