Adjective Clauses: Adjective Clauses (#9)

Using Adjective Clauses (#9):
Types of Adjective Clauses

Restrictive / Nonrestrictive Clauses (#2)

There are two important things to remember about
restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses: their
punctuation and the relative pronouns that they use.
In today's Hint, we'll take a look at punctuation and
relative pronouns used in non-restrictive clauses.

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Non-Restrictive Clauses: Punctuation

Because non-restrictive adjective clauses give extra
information, we "set them apart" from the main
sentence by using commas:

Jim Petersen, who(m) Judy met at Ken's party,
called her last night.

Last night Judy got a call from Jim Peterson,
who(m) she met at Ken's party.

Your mother, who called yesterday, called again
this afternoon.

This afternoon you had a call from your mother,
who also called yesterday.

Hamburgers, which are actually made from beef,
are popular in the U.S.A.

One popular food in the U.S.A. is hamburgers,
which are actually made from beef.

Saguaros, which are tall cacti with "arms,"
are common in Arizona.

Among the common cacti in Arizona are saguaros,
which are tall and have "arms."

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Special Note:

Do not use commas in restrictive adjective clauses:

wrong:
*The person, who(m) Judy met at Ken's party,
called her last night.

wrong:
*This afternoon you got a call from a woman,
who also called you yesterday.

wrong:
*The cacti, which are tall and have "arms,"
are common in Arizona.

 

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Non-Restrictive Clauses: Pronouns

Most relative pronouns can be used in both
restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses,
but one cannot:

used in both restrictive and non-restrictive
clauses: who, whom, which, whose

used only in restrictive clauses: that

Examples:

wrong:
*Jim Petersen, that Judy met at Ken's party,
called her last night.

right:
Jim Petersen, who(m) Judy met at Ken's party,
called her last night.

wrong:
*This afternoon you had a call from your mother,
that also called yesterday.

right:
This afternoon you had a call from your mother,
who also called yesterday.

wrong:
*Hamburgers, that are actually made from beef,
are popular in the U.S.A.

right:
Hamburgers, which are actually made from beef,
are popular in the U.S.A.

wrong:
*Among the common cacti in Arizona are saguaros,
that are tall and have "arms."

right:
Among the common cacti in Arizona are saguaros,
which are tall and have "arms."