Can I omit the second comma?

Question

Hi,

As shown in these non-restrictive sentenses,

The children, who ran up the hills, are mine.
The children, who ran up the hills are mine.

Does the omission of the second comma in the first sentence make any grammatical change?

Miriam · Accepted Answer

Hi, Pastel.

In your sentence, there are only two grammatically correct possibilities: you use both commas, or you omit both.
The sentence, however, will have a different meaning in each case:

1. "The children, who ran up the hills, are mine."
In this sentence, "who ran up the hills is a non-restrictive relative clause. This type of reative clause always appears between commas, and it adds information that is not "vital" to the meaning of the sentence and which may, consequently, be omitted.
You are trying to say that the children are yours, and the fact that they ran up the hills is "extra" information.

2. "The children who ran up the hills are mine."
No commas here. "Who ran up the hills" is a restrictive relative clause. It is called "restricted" because, unlike the clause in #1, this one provides necessary information that can't be omitted. In this sentence without commas, you are saying that, out of a group of children, only those who ran up the hills are yours.

In sentence #1, the person/people you are talking to know what children you are talking about. In the second, you are explaining what children in particular you're referring to.

Miriam

PASTEL · Answer

Dear Mirium, thank you very much. It's very clear now.

Miriam · Answer

You're welcome, Pastel

I'm glad to have been of help.

Can I omit the second comma?

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