Essential or Nonessential Clauses with Commas 2

Front

What is an essential clause?

Back

An essential clause provides information that is necessary to understand the meaning of a sentence. It is not set off by commas.

Front

What is a non-essential clause?

Back

A non-essential clause adds extra information to a sentence but is not necessary for its meaning. It is set off by commas.

Front

When do you use commas with non-essential clauses?

Back

Commas are used to separate non-essential clauses from the rest of the sentence.

Front

Example of an essential clause: 'The book that I borrowed is great.'

Back

In this sentence, 'that I borrowed' is essential because it specifies which book is being referred to.

Front

Example of a non-essential clause: 'My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting.'

Back

In this sentence, 'who lives in New York' is non-essential; the sentence still makes sense without it.

Front

How can you identify an essential clause in a sentence?

Back

An essential clause can be identified by checking if the sentence loses its meaning without it.

Front

How can you identify a non-essential clause in a sentence?

Back

A non-essential clause can be identified by checking if the sentence still makes sense without it.

Front

What punctuation is used for essential clauses?

Back

Essential clauses do not use any punctuation, such as commas.

Front

What punctuation is used for non-essential clauses?

Back

Non-essential clauses are set off by commas before and after the clause.

Front

Rewrite the sentence: 'The car that is red is mine.'

Back

The essential clause 'that is red' specifies which car is being referred to.