Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Adjective Clauses

In Subordination with Adjective Clauses, we learned how an adjective clause functions like an adjective to modify a noun. In Relative Pronouns and Adjective Clauses, we focused on the role played by the relative pronoun. Here we'll learn to distinguish between the two main types of adjective clauses: restrictive and nonrestrictive.

Nonrestrictive Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause set off from the main clause by commas is said to be nonrestrictive. Here's an example:

Old Professor Legree, who dresses like a teenager, is going through his second childhood.

This who clause is nonrestrictive because the information in the clause doesn't restrict or limit the noun it modifies (Old Professor Legree). The commas signify that the adjective clause provides added, not essential, information. This practice is consistent with Comma Guideline #4: "Use a pair of commas to set off interruptions."

Restrictive Adjective Clauses

On the other hand, an adjective clause that is restrictive should not be set off by commas.

An older person who dresses like a teenager is often an object of ridicule or pity.

Here, the adjective clause restricts or limits the meaning of the noun it modifies (An older person). A restrictive adjective clause is not set off by commas.

So let's keep in mind two basic rules:

• Nonrestrictive: An adjective clause that can be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence should be set off by commas.
• Restrictive: An adjective clause that cannot be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence should not be set off by commas.

Practice: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

For each sentence below, decide if the adjective clause (in bold) is restrictive or nonrestrictive. When you're done, compare your answers with those at the end of the exercise.

1. Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.


2. Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.


3. Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for everyone but a fundamentalist minority, whose objections are based not on reasoning but on doctrinaire adherence to religious principles.


4. People who are arrogant on account of their wealth are about equal to the Laplanders, who measure a man's worth by the number of his reindeer.


5. People who are arrogant on account of their wealth are about equal to the Laplanders, who measure a man's worth by the number of his reindeer.


6. Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.


7. I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.


8. The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.


9. An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.


10. Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts.

Answers:

1. restrictive
2. nonrestrictive
3. nonrestrictive
4. restrictive
5. nonrestrictive
6. nonrestrictive
7. nonrestrictive
8. restrictive
9. restrictive
10. restrictive

NEXT:
Building Sentences with Adjective Clauses