Commas in relative clauses

Commas in relative clauses

So here are two very easy easy things to remember

1) Compare:

A) The place where I went to school is a wonderful town. and …

B) Edinburgh, where I went to university, is a beautiful city.

In A you can’t say “The place is a wonderful town” … why? Because we don’t know which place it is. This means that it is essential to put the complete defining clause because “The place where I went to school” is the SUBJECT of “is” in “is a wonderful town” (grammatically this is called a Defining Relative Clause …. so we DO NOT USE COMMAS)

In B it IS possible to say “Edinburgh is a beautiful city” and “where I went to university” is extra information that grammatically is not necessary. Both parts are grammatically complete sentences (grammatically this type of Relative Clause is called a non-defining Relative Clause, because it does NOT define the subject, it only adds information, this type IS written with COMMAS at the beginning and end)

Compare:

- My brother, who lives in New York, is a doctor.

(I only have one brother and he is a doctor. “lives in NY” is additional information)

- My brother who lives in London is an architect.

(I have more than one brother: the one who lives in London is an architect “my other brother is a teacher“

1. Billy The Kid, whose real name was William Bonney, was born in New York in 1869. COMMAS

2. Alice, who had just killed her husband, was planning her escape. COMMAS

3. Madge, whose best friend was Alice, discovered the body. COMMAS

4. The woman, who lives by the church, is a doctor. COMMAS

5. The garden, that we visited last week, was full of flowers. COMMAS

6. The man, whose car was stolen , went to the police. COMMAS

7. This is the neighborhood where I grew up.

8. The bed, where I was sleeping on, was very uncomfortable. COMMAS

9. This is the time of the year when the flowers blossom.

10. The house, that was built ten years ago, had entrance in the corner. COMMAS

II. 1. (Who /whom)

2. Whose

3. (that)

4. who

5. (that)

6. where

7. when

8. (why)

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