A relative pronoun: 'the restrictive use' vs 'the non-restrictive use'

Question

Could you tell me what the difference is between the following sentences? Contrary to the relation between "He has two sons who became teachers" and "He has two son, who became teachers," I think there is no difference between the following examples because it is impossible that 'She' can be an exchange student who comes from another region but Sudan while "He" can have another son. Could you tell me whether my supposition is correct? Thank you.

1. She is an exchange student who comes from Sudan.
2. She is an exchange student, who comes from Sudan.

GPY · Accepted Answer

To me, (2) seems mispunctuated, though I would understand it to mean the same as (1).

Clive · Answer

You have to think about possible contexts.

1. She is an exchange student who comes from Sudan.

Imagine a school in which there are exchange students from several different countries.

She is not an exchange student who comes from France.

She is not an exchange student who comes from Italy.

She is an exchange student who comes from Sudan.

2. She is an exchange student, who comes from Sudan.

Imagine a discussion about occupations.

He is a firefighter.

She is an exchange student. By the way, she comes from Sudan.

GPY · Answer

CliveYou have to think about possible contexts.

Sorry, I think Clive could be right ... I'm not really sure what I was thinking now,

BillJ · Answer

GPY CliveYou have to think about possible contexts.Sorry, I think Clive could be right ... I'm not really sure what I was thinking now,

Yes, Clive was right. I was about to post this reply to the OP, when he put his post in. But here it is anyway:

[1] She is an exchange student who comes from Sudan.
[2] She is an exchange student, who comes from Sudan.

Your supposition is incorrect. You inserted a comma in your second example, thus making it a non-restrictive relative construction, whilst the one without a comma remains restrictive. And it makes a difference!

In [1], the absence of a comma after “student” means that you are restricting the referent of “she” to not just some exchange student, but specifically an exchange student who comes from Sudan. The information given in the relative clause is an integral part of the larger message: it plays an important role in defining the referent of the subject “she”.

But in [2], the inclusion of a comma after “student” tells us that the information contained in the relative clause is not necessary in order to identify the subject. The fact that she’s an exchange student is all we need to know, and any further information such as where she comes from is incidental or supplementary. It’s rather like saying “That’s Rita over there; she’s an exchange student, and oh, by the way, she comes from Sudan”.

BillJ

A relative pronoun: 'the restrictive use' vs 'the non-restrictive use'

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