Restrictive And Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses

Professor Daniel Seely MW 1 Krista Osborne [email protected] Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses

Definitions To better understand the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses, along with review of class notes and diagrams, Grammar for Smart People by Barry Tarshis (1992), was consulted. The following is a list of definitions excerpted almost verbatim from his book:  “Clause: A group of related words that include a VERB and its SUBJECT. There are two types: DEPENDENT and INDEPENDENT” (pg. 174).  “Relative clause: A DEPENDENT CLAUSE introduced by any of the three relative PROOUNS – that, which, or who” (pg. 181).  “Nonrestrictive clause: o A RELATIVE CLAUSE is a dependent clause that contributes information that may be important in a SENTENCE but is not absolutely essential to the fundamental meaning of the sentence. Nonrestrictive clauses are usually introduced by which (or who, if the ANTECEDENT is a person) and are set off from the rest of the SENTENCE by COMMAS” (pg. 162 – 163; 177). o Ex: We hope to complete the job in July, when the weather turns warmer. (A nonrestrictive clause: Without it, the basic meaning of the main clause would still be intact. The clause simply adds additional information about July.)”  “Restrictive clause: o A RELATIVE CLAUSE that so limits the meaning of the sentence that without the clause the essential meaning of the sentence would be lost. Restrictive clauses are usually introduced by that or who (pg. 182) o A RESTRICTIVE clause is a dependent clause whose presence in the sentence is essential to the basic meaning of the main Professor Daniel Seely MW 2 Krista Osborne [email protected] clause. Ex: We hope to complete this job when the weather turns warmer. (A restrictive clause: Without it, the basic meaning of the main clause would be lost.)” (p. 162 – 163)

Class notes on relative clauses, compliments of Professor Daniel Seely, are delineated below:  Restrictive relative clause: A RESTRICTED RELATIVE CLAUSE does not employ the use of commas. It refers to a “restricted’ portion, implying there must be a comparison of at least two entities in order to restrict a part. A key aspect of restrictive clauses is “only”. There is more than one part but the restrictive clause confines itself to “only” one/a certain portion e.g., a portion of the whole. o The restricted clause goes inside the clause and picks out only a certain group. o The boys that were swimming enjoyed the water. The phrase, that were swimming restricts a part of the boys under discussion. Other boys could have been climbing trees, throwing stones, playing volleyball, catching tadpoles, throwing rocks at girls, etc. Due to the absence of commas and use of that, this clause is restrictive, separating a part from a greater whole. o Beautiful or not so beautiful art work may follow : ) Professor Daniel Seely MW 3 Krista Osborne [email protected]

 Nonrestrictive relative clause: A NONRESTRICTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSE MUST HAVE COMMAS!!!!! This type of clause is almost parenthetical and does not provide limitations. Personally, employing a comma is like a rest in music or where one would perhaps take a break in singing a phrase for either expression or to avoid passing out from lack of air. o The boys, who were swimming, enjoyed the water. The antecedent of ‘who’ in this sentence is ‘boys’. We could extract “, who were swimming,” from the sentence and not lose a tremendous amount of meaning. In this sentence, reference is to all the boys not a portion of the boys. Every one of them enjoyed the water. o Perhaps, legally speaking, all is cut and dry on paper, but in spoken communication, ambiguity is a possibility. As who can be used with both restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses, taking a deep breath and pausing before and after the clause is essential.

Examples from Readings Examples from several different readings are examined. 1. “And it is from our hearts that we cry out.” (From The Warrior Song of King Gezar, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin, Penguin Group, NY, New York, 2006, p. 314) a. Restrictive relative clause Professor Daniel Seely MW 4 Krista Osborne [email protected] b. Absence of commas; use of that; intended meaning lost if removed 2. “As the U.S. confronts Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, Greg Mortenson, 45, is quietly waging his own campaign against Islamic fundamentalists, (1) who often recruit members through religious schools called madrassas. Mortenson’s approach hinges on a simple idea: (2) that by building secular schools and helping to promote education – particularly for girls – in the world’s most volatile war zone, support for the Taliban and other extremists sects eventually will dry up.” - Kevin Fedarko, Parade cover story, April 6, 2003. (Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin, Penguin Group, NY, New York, 2006, p. 297) a. (1) Nonrestrictive relative clause i. ‘Who’ is preceded by a comma and the antecedent refers to people. ii. The clause offers some information about these fundamentalists but we could understand the sentence without the clause. b. (2) Restrictive relative clause i. Absence of commas; use of that; intended meaning lost if removed ii. In this case, the construction is a bit different as a colon precedes the clause; however, the sentence hangs if a period is placed after ‘idea’. Obviously, a key word here is ‘hinge’. If the approach is hinged to/on something, the something is intrinsic to operation of the approach. Without hinges, a door falls off. Conversely, if hinges have nothing attached, the picture misses something. 3. “I believed in it because I believed we were serious (1) when we said we planned to rebuild Afghanistan.” a. Restrictive b. Without this clause, the meaning of what the individuals were serious about would be unclear. Professor Daniel Seely MW 5 Krista Osborne [email protected] c. No commas are present. 4. “Don’t worry. Let us be of good cheer remembering (1) that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those (2) which never come.” Lowell (Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Daybreak Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 1966, p. 51) a. (1) & (2) Restrictive b. Without either clause, the meanings would be unclear. c. Even though (2) uses ‘which’ and does not have a comma, exemplifying an ambiguous case, the clause functions syntactically as a nonrestrictive clause. d. As well, ‘which never come’ presents restrictive parameters and is differentiated or set apart from another assumed, though ellipted, group of misfortunes, i.e., those that/which do come. e. ‘which never come’ uses the “only” rule of thumb. Perhaps, ‘that’ might have been used again; however two thats in such close proximity may not sound as pleasant to the ear. (Literary license). 5. “By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6) “We do not understand (1) that we are to give thanks for evil in itself, but we may offer praise for the overruling of it for good. Again, many things (2) that we regard as misfortunes are blessings. Trials and crosses are often the greatest blessings in disguise, for it is only through such disciplinary processes (3) that the character is perfected. When we consider that the disagreeable is indispensable enrichment and strengthening of character, we see (4) that we should offer thanks for this phase of experience, as well as the agreeable. What a change would be wrought in our lives if we thus acted!” (Streams in the Desert, p. 57) a. (1), (2), (3), and (4) exemplify restrictive relative clauses. b. Without these clauses the sentence meanings would be lost. c. No commas are used and the word ‘that’ is employed. Professor Daniel Seely MW 6 Krista Osborne [email protected]

The Little Prince – Le Petit Prince Comparison of Clause Structures among Three Languages: English; French; Farsi.

For each example, there will be a phrase in English followed by the same phrase in French and then Farsi. Example 1: Chapter 1, Page 1 “After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion. Restrictive Clause

« Ensuite, ils ne peuvent plus bouger et ils dorment pendant les six mois de leur digestion. » Here, French uses a Prepositional Phrase, ‘during the six months of their digestion’ rather than a restrictive clause.

بعد دیگرنمی توانند تکان بخورند و در شش ماهی که به هضم ان مسغولند می " ".دددددد

in Farsi can be used to ’که‘ .Farsi uses a Restrictive Clause construction as does English mean that or when. Farsi does not use a comma in the translation.

Example 2: Chapter 1, Page 1 “I have flown a little over all pats of the world and it is true that geography has been very useful to me.” Restrictive Clause

« (a) J’ai volé un peu partout dans le monde. (b) Et la géographie c’est exact, m’a beaucoup servi. » (a) I have flown everywhere in the world (b) And geography, this is true, served me well. (Literally: And the geography, this is true, me well served.) Professor Daniel Seely MW 7 Krista Osborne [email protected] " .من به همه جای دنیا کم و بیش برواز کودم و براستی دد دددددد دددد دد دددد دددد "

Farsi also uses a Restrictive Relative Clause as does English. French uses an S – O – V construction.

Due to the fact that typing in Farsi, on my part, is ‘chicken pecking slow’ and I cannot find certain keys or punctuation marks, the following comparisons are handwritten. I apologize for any inconvenience and eyestrain. Actually, typing at least some of the lines has been fun : ) Punctuations such as exclamation marks, periods, and question marks are deemed necessary in Farsi; however, commas have only been used in the past sixty years and are oftentimes omitted. Meeting with a native speaker helped in the analysis process of some of the comparisons, which were a bit ‘iffy’.