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c5a14.htf
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1997-01-20
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C5A14
Essential vs. Nonessential
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Restrictive (essential) clauses or phrases are essential to the
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meaning of the sentence. Removing them would change
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the meaning of the sentence. Nonrestrictive (nonessential)
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clauses or phrases can be removed without changing the
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meaning of the sentence; they give additional or incidental
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information which is not essential to the basic idea
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conveyed by the sentence.
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Nonrestrictive
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(nonessential): Our neighbor, who is sitting
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in that chair by the wall, is well-liked in our community.
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Restrictive
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(essential): The man who is sitting in that chair
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by the wall is our neighbor.
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Notice the difference in meaning between the two examples
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below.
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Nonrestrictive
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(nonessential): The girl, who is wearing a
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very odd hat, stood indecisively before the classroom door.
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Restrictive
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(essential): The girl who is wearing a very odd
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hat stood indecisively before the classroom door.
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In the first example above, the girl who is the subject of the
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sentence is the only girl standing in front of the door,
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and we are given incidental information about her. In the
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second example, there are other girls standing in front of the
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door, and we are given information to help us identify to
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which girl the sentence refers.
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To test a phrase or clause to see whether it is essential or
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nonessential, imagine that the commas are handles that you
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can use to lift the phrase or clause out of the sentence. If
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the basic meaning of the sentence does not change, then
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the phrase or clause is nonessential and should be set off
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with commas. If the basic meaning of the sentence
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changes, then the phrase or clause is essential and should
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not be set off with commas.
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More information
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Trends with Commas
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