Separating Part of Sentence with Commas: Non-Restrictive Rule
Table of Contents
In English, you may have seen sentences with certain parts enclosed by commas, but what does that really mean? In many cases, ignoring those commas doesn’t change the core meaning of the sentence.
However, as a passage becomes more nuanced and detail-oriented, overlooking this structure can be risky and may lead to misunderstanding the writer’s intention. This article explores the purpose of setting off parts of a sentence with commas and how this grammatical construction works.
Quick Summary
In English, separating a part of a sentence with commas indicates that the part is non-essential (non-restrictive). On the other hand, when no commas are used, the information is treated as essential (restrictive).
Let’s look at the following pair of sentences:
My dogs, running around the park, are 8 years old.
In this sentence, the phrase “running around the park” is non-essential because it is enclosed by commas. If we remove this part, the sentence becomes “My dogs are 8 years old.” This means that all of my dogs are 8 years old, and the “running around the park” phrase simply adds extra information about them.
What if we rewrite the sentence using a restrictive structure?
My dogs running around the park are 8 years old.
Here, the phrase “running around the park” is essential and restricts the meaning of “dogs.” It specifies which dogs are 8 years old: only the ones running around the park.
This sentence implies that there are multiple dogs: some that are currently running around the park (and are 8 years old), and others that are not running (and are not 8 years old). Because this information defines which dogs we are talking about, it is considered essential and should not be separated by commas.
| Structure | Commas | Meaning | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-restrictive | Yes | Adds extra non-important information | All dogs are 8 years old |
| Restrictive | No | Defines the noun | Only the dogs running in the park are 8 years old |
Meaning of Separating Part by Commas
In English, when a part of a sentence is set off by commas and separated from the main clause, it is considered non-essential information. Because this part does not carry crucial meaning, removing it does not change the main idea of the sentence.
These two different structures, with or without commas, are known as restrictive and non-restrictive rules. The names come from how each structure functions in a sentence: whether it helps identify or define the noun, or simply adds extra information about it.
Therefore, the former construction is called the restrictive (or essential) part, while the latter is known as the non-restrictive (or non-essential) part.
Restrictive vs. Non-restrictive Rules
- Restrictive use (essential use): Do not separate the part from the main clause with commas. The information is essential to identify or define the noun.
- Non-restrictive use (non-essential use): Separate the part from the main clause using commas. The information is additional and not necessary to identify the noun.
These two differences are subtle and, in most times, unclear. So, let’s examine some sentence pairs that one applies restrictive structure and the other non-restrictive.
Pair 1
People, who live near the coast, often experience strong winds.
This sentence contains a non-essential clause: “who live near the coast.” We know this because the clause is enclosed by commas. When a part of a sentence is set off by commas, it is considered non-essential, meaning that removing it doesn’t change the core meaning of the sentence.
If we remove the non-essential part, the sentence becomes:
People often experience strong winds.
You may notice that this version sounds unnatural, because it suggests that all people experience strong winds, which is unlikely. Therefore, in this context, it’s better to use the restrictive (essential) construction instead, unless the writer intends to emphasize a special meaning.
The next sentence is its restrictive structure version.
People who live near the coast often experience strong winds.
This version uses the restrictive (essential) structure. Here, the noun people is limited and defined to mean those who live near the coast, which makes perfect sense in this context. In other words, people in this sentence does not refer to everyone in general; it specifically refers to people living near the coast, thereby restricting the meaning of the noun.
This information is essential, because removing or changing it would alter the core meaning of the sentence.
Pair 2
My teachers, who love classical music, often plays Mozart during class.
In this sentence, the relative clause “who loves classical music” is non-essential because it is separated by commas. This means that it merely adds extra information about my teacher, all of whom could love classical music or not, but it doesn’t define which teacher is being referred to.
Even if we remove the clause, the core sentence “My teacher often plays Mozart during class” still makes complete sense. Therefore, the relative clause simply provides additional, descriptive information.
The teacher who loves classical music often plays Mozart during class.
Here, the clause “who loves classical music” is essential because it specifies which teacher we are talking about: the one who loves classical music. Without this information, the listener wouldn’t know exactly which teacher is meant.
In this case, “who loves classical music” restricts the noun teacher to a specific one among possibly many. If the school has several teachers, this sentence singles out the particular one who enjoys classical music.
About the Author: joe
