Restrictive (Essential - Necessary) Elements
Restrictive elements are word groups that are necessary to the meaning of the
sentence. They are not set off from the rest of the sentence by commas or
other punctuation.
Example: The flowers that bloom in early spring are my favorite.
In this example, “that bloom in early spring” is essential to the meaning of the
sentence and thus should not be surrounded by commas. Without the phrase,
the sentence would read, “The flowers are my favorite,” which is not very clear.
What flowers? Here is another example:
Example: She loved the flowers that were outside of her window sill.
TLDR: essential info = not separated off by punctuation (like commas)
,Nonrestrictive (Inessential - Extra) Elements
Nonrestrictive elements are groups of words that can be removed without changing the
meaning of the sentence. Because removing nonrestrictive (inessential) elements
does not change meaning, nonrestrictive elements should be set off from the rest of
the sentence by commas or other punctuation.
Example: The roses, which were blooming in every color, filled the garden with a sweet
fragrance.
Because the sentence still makes sense and is meaningful without “which were blooming
in every color,” the phrase is nonrestrictive (not essential) and should be surrounded by
commas. Another example:
Example: She gazed at the flowers with her trusty cat, Sir Griffin III, by her side.
TLDR: inessential info = separated off by punctuation (like commas)
, Now, we’ll review using commas to set off
nonrestrictive (inessential) elements.
Restrictive elements are word groups that are necessary to the meaning of the
sentence. They are not set off from the rest of the sentence by commas or
other punctuation.
Example: The flowers that bloom in early spring are my favorite.
In this example, “that bloom in early spring” is essential to the meaning of the
sentence and thus should not be surrounded by commas. Without the phrase,
the sentence would read, “The flowers are my favorite,” which is not very clear.
What flowers? Here is another example:
Example: She loved the flowers that were outside of her window sill.
TLDR: essential info = not separated off by punctuation (like commas)
,Nonrestrictive (Inessential - Extra) Elements
Nonrestrictive elements are groups of words that can be removed without changing the
meaning of the sentence. Because removing nonrestrictive (inessential) elements
does not change meaning, nonrestrictive elements should be set off from the rest of
the sentence by commas or other punctuation.
Example: The roses, which were blooming in every color, filled the garden with a sweet
fragrance.
Because the sentence still makes sense and is meaningful without “which were blooming
in every color,” the phrase is nonrestrictive (not essential) and should be surrounded by
commas. Another example:
Example: She gazed at the flowers with her trusty cat, Sir Griffin III, by her side.
TLDR: inessential info = separated off by punctuation (like commas)
, Now, we’ll review using commas to set off
nonrestrictive (inessential) elements.
