![]() Note that the relative pronoun ‘that’ can be used (instead of ‘which’ or ‘who’) in defining relative clauses, but not in non-defining relative clauses. In the second case, I have a number of uncles, but the one that lives in America is rich we know which uncle is being referred to because he is defined by the relative clause. In the first case, I only have one uncle (he lives in America, by the way) and he is rich. Compare the following: My uncle, who lives in America, is rich. Non-defining relative clauses are also used parenthetically. The auditors were not able to identify the cows, because they were on the mountain pasture at the time of the audit. Consider rewriting the text to remove all possible doubt: The auditors were only able to identify the cows which were at the farm at the time of the audit they were unable to identify those which were on the mountain pasture. Where the presence or absence of a comma changes the meaning of the text, there is a risk that it will be misunderstood. ![]() In this case, the implication is that the auditors had not been able to identify any cows at all, because they were all on the mountain. It adds extra information about the cows, but does not identify which ones are being talked about. In the second case – with a comma – the relative clause is non-defining. This is called a defining relative clause. Probably, the auditors had been able to identify other cows (the ones at the farm) it was just the ones on the mountain that had escaped identification. ![]() ![]() In the first case – without a comma – the relative clause (which were on the mountain …) tells us which cows we are talking about. The auditors were not able to identify the cows, which were on the mountain pasture at the time of the audit. The auditors were not able to identify the cows which were on the mountain pasture at the time of the audit. Commas are used to make an important distinction between two types of relative construction, often known as ‘defining’ and ‘non-defining’ relative clauses. Parenthetic phrases (but not introductory phrases) may sometimes be marked by round brackets (see Section 10.1.7(a)) or dashes (see Section 10.1.8(a)).Ĭommas in relative clauses. In 2012 the committee took three decisions. Both the following are possible: In 2012, the committee took three decisions. they may be run into the rest of the sentence. Note, though, that short introductory phrases (typically two to three words) need not have any separate emphasis of their own, i.e. However, a comma is required if the phrase has a separate emphasis simply by virtue of being moved out of position, for example to the beginning of the sentence: If this changes the intended meaning of the sentence, phrases must not be set off by commas. The comma is therefore correctly left out in the following sentence: Phrases must not be set off by commas if this changes the intended meaning of the sentence. the sentence retains its sense if the phrase is omitted. With the comma, the phrase complements it, i.e. Without the comma, the phrase ‘despite the hesitation of some members’ forms part of the statement. The committee adopted the proposal, despite the hesitation of some members. The committee adopted the proposal despite the hesitation of some members. Parenthetic phrases may be created by setting off part of the sentence with a comma (or commas) while retaining the normal word order.
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