INTRODUCING:NON-RESTRICTIVE CLAUSES AND

PARENTHETICAL PHRASES

LEARNING TARGETS:

I can define nonrestrictive elements (extra information that is added and does not affect the meaning of the sentence, e.g., Mrs. Jones, my teacher, assigned homework.) and restrictive elements (extra information that is added and does affect the meaning of the sentence, e.g., Mrs. Jones who had a heart attack left in an ambulance.).

I can define parenthetical elements (interrupters, e.g., at any rate, in my opinion, nevertheless).

I can enclose nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements with commas to separate these elements from the rest of the sentence.

I can recognize that nonrestrictive elements and parenthetical elements can also be set apart from the sentence using parentheses and dashes (parentheses reduce the importance; dashes increase the importance).

PAR EN THETICAL PHRAS ES/EXPR ESSIO NS:

• These are ‘afterthought’ words that interrupt the sentence.• Commas, Dashes, or

Parentheses are used to ‘set off’ the phrase (basically surround the phrase).

PARENTHETICAL PHRASES

• Common ‘afterthought’ words/phrases:• For example Of course• However On the other

hand• Moreover Therefore• To be sure Perhaps• As a matter of fact

PARENTHETICAL PHRASES

Examples: • She, of course, has no sympathy for me.• Mrs. Mason, on the other hand, has no clue

what I’m thinking. • Computers can, for example, teach people how

to play the trumpet. • Otis decided, in fact, to leave school.• The truth, however, was hard to discover.

NONRESTRICTIVE CLAUSES

• These are words or phrases that are not necessary to the meaning of a sentence.

• You could delete the phrase (clause) and the sentence would still make sense.

• Put commas, dashes, or parentheses on both sides of a nonrestrictive clause when it falls in the middle of a sentence.

• (These types of phrases are referred to as appositives, when the word or phrase renames or clarifies a noun.)

COMMAS IN NONRESTRICTIVE CLAUSES

Examples: • Mrs. Moore, who loves to drink water, reads The

Hunger Games the best. • Our usable water supply, which comes from surface

water or groundwater, makes up only one percent of the total water available.

• The ferret, which is a cousin of the weasel, can make a good pet.

• Sophie, the lady with ten cats, bought a new truck.• This lamp, which we bought yesterday, is defective.

ASK YOURSELF…

Do you need the information?• Example:• Nikki and Amanda, who are

twins, are strong swimmers. * Do you need the underlined part to understand the sentence’s meaning?

ASK YOURSELF…

Their mother, who never learned to swim herself, had them take swimming lessons when they were young.

The program that she took them to starts teaching children at six months.

WARNING!!!!!Commas only surround NONESSENTIAL (nonrestrictive) information (clauses/phrases).

Which sentence should contain commas? • Langston Hughes who was a key figure in

the Harlem Renaissance often used the rhythms of jazz in his poetry.

• Actors missing more than two rehearsals will be replaced.

WARNING!!!

Which sentence should contain commas? • My husky who died last year

was fourteen. • My husky who had blue eyes

had heart problems.

LET’S TRY SOME…

The athletes who I most admire are swimmers.

Swimming which requires strength and stamina is a challenging sport.

LET’S TRY SOME…

A swimmer who wishes to participate in serious swimming competitions must practice constantly.

Our women’s team whose record stands enters the pool area.

LET’S TRY SOME…

The contestants who are wearing special racing suits will swim eight lengths of the pool in the first heat.

YOUR TURN!!

Josh fortunately is nothing like his brother.

Our leading advocate of clean streets you understand is Mayor Phillips.

YOUR TURN!!!

Glen unlike Milton is musically gifted.

Alyssa told a fascinating but not believable story.

YOUR TURN!!

Brady decided nonetheless not to buy the car.

Mac’s cat that was watching the dog intently walked carefully away.

YOUR TURN!!!

TV commercials sometimes the most entertaining parts of a program are essentially flashy corporate propaganda. (Makayla)

The Mississippi River which once flowed north into Hudson Bay flows south into the Gulf of Mexico. (Preston W.)

YOUR TURN!!!

Mr. Andrews who served the salad did not notice the caterpillar nibbling a lettuce leaf.

The ancient Buick which Treasure purchased from a newspaper ad belches black smoke whenever she accelerates.

YOUR TURN!!!

Ms. Saylor the lady with the British accent teaches gym at the local high school.

Taylia who was desperately trying to save money stopped eating out.

YOUR TURN!!!

Bri of course refused to come with us.

President Cheesestick knowing the need for drastic action declared the entire state a disaster area.

YOUR TURN!!!

Dalton’s mother a woman with no sense of fear is a professional bomb tester.

Amanda the CFO of her company reads spy novels by the bucketful.

YOUR TURN!!!

Brooke’s youngest brother who’s a freshman doesn’t know how to swim.

James hoped to contact the President who had no personal cellphone about opening an account for his family.

YOUR TURN!!!

Reagan is as you can probably tell pretty nervous about public speaking.

Once upon a time before television and computers Colby read books for fun.

YOUR TURN!!!

Reusable shopping bags relatively unknown two years ago have exploded in popularity since the “green” movement became fashionable. ( Preston A.)

YOUR TURN!!!

The meet which began late ended well after dark.