grammar · academic
defining vs non-defining relative clauses (use of commas and that/which/who)
The difference between restrictive (defining) relative clauses that identify which person or thing is meant (no commas) and non-restrictive (non-defining) clauses that give extra information (with commas).
Examples
“The students who study regularly get better grades. (defining)”
“My brother, who is a teacher, lives in Hanoi. (non-defining)”
“The book that I borrowed was fascinating. (defining)”
Band 8 sentence
“When presenting research, make sure to distinguish defining clauses from non-defining ones, because commas change the meaning of your sentences.”
Collocations
- defining: no commas; non-defining: commas
- use 'that' for defining clauses (especially with things)
Common mistakes
My brother who is a teacher lives in Hanoi.→My brother, who is a teacher, lives in Hanoi.
The car, that was parked outside, belonged to me.→The car that was parked outside belonged to me.
She gave me the book, which I needed for the test.→She gave me the book that I needed for the test.
Say it for a higher band
5who/which + V (no commas or commas randomly)→6use commas for non-defining and 'that' for defining→7+correctly choose commas and that/which/who depending on defining vs non-defining
Synonyms
restrictive vs non-restrictive
Easily confused
that vs which vs who
“The report that she wrote was late. My sister, who is a lawyer, reviewed it.”
Related words
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In Relative clauses
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