Adjective Clauses - 8

Restrictive / Nonrestrictive Clauses

We have already seen that adjective clauses can be classified into subject-pattern clauses, object-pattern clauses, possessive clauses, and clauses with where and when. They can also be classified in another way: into restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.

Restrictive Clauses

An adjective clause is restrictive if it is needed to identify (specify, clarify) which noun phrase is being talked about in the sentence that contains the clause. If the clause is restrictive, it will answer the question "Which (noun) _____ ?"

Examples
1. The person (who[m]) Janet met at Bob's party called her last night.
A: Some person called Janet last night.
B: Which person called Janet last night?
A: The person (who[m] / that) she met at Bob's party.
This clause is restrictive because it's needed to identify "the person."

2. The person who called yesterday will call again this afternoon.
A: Some person called again this afternoon.
B: Which person called again this afternoon?
A: The person who (that) called yesterday.
This clause is also restrictive; again, it's needed to specify "the person."

3. The soup that (which) Rachel made is too spicy.
A: The soup is too spicy.
B: Which soup?
A: The soup (that / which) Rachel made.
This clause is restrictive, too: it shows which soup is being referred to.



4. The bike that's (which is) parked beside John's belongs to Sandra.
A: One of those bikes belongs to Sandra.
B: Which one?
A: The one that's (which is) parked beside John's.
Once again, the clause is restrictive; it's necessary information if A wants B to know which car she is referring to.

Non-Restrictive Clauses

An adjective clause is non-restrictive if the clause is not needed to identify which noun phrase is being talked about. This does not mean that the clause should be omitted from the sentence. Instead, it
means that the clause gives important information, but the information is extra.

Examples
1. Larry Peterson, who(m) Gloria met at John's party, called her last night.
This clause is non-restrictive. It's not needed to identify the person who called Judy because the person is identified by name: Larry Peterson.


2. Your father, who called yesterday, called again this afternoon.
This clause is also non-restrictive. It's not needed to show which person called again this afternoon; your father makes the person's identity very clear.

3. Janet's chicken soup, which is in the big white bowl, is too spicy.
The clause inside the commas is not needed to show which soup is being referred to because the modifiers Sally's, vegetable, and beef make this very clear. Knowing that this soup is in the big white bowl is extra information, so the clause "which is in the big white bowl" is non-restrictive.

4. Tina's new bike, which she bought last week, is a Honda.

The clause inside the commas is also non-restrictive. It's not needed to show which car is being referred to because the modifiers Tina's and new make this very clear. For this reason, the clause "which she bought last week" is extra information,