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Taka Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Comma

I visited a friend of mine who had been in the hospital for three weeks.
About the 'who' in bold, is a comma necessary? If there was a comma, would it sound wrong?
  

Top answer

A friend of mine implies that this particular friend is mentioned for the first time. It also suggests that "I" has several friends. Therefore the relative clause is restrictive and no comma should be used.

— Cool Breeze

  • A friend of mine implies that this particular friend is mentioned for the first time.
  • It also suggests that "I" has several friends.
  • Therefore the relative clause is restrictive and no comma should be used.
  • That is also possible instead of who - and contrary to what some people believe, has been used to refer to people far longer than who .
  • In the hospital is American English for in hospital.
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3 Answers
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A friend of mine implies that this particular friend is mentioned for the first time. It also suggests that "I" has several friends. Therefore the relative clause is restrictive and no comma should be used. That is also possible instead of who - and contrary to what some people believe, has been used to refer to people far longer than who. In the hospital is Am
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Cool BreezeA friend of mine implies that this particular friend is mentioned for the first time. It also suggests that "I" has several friends. Therefore the relative clause is restrictive and no comma should be used.

CB

It makes sense. But I've found many examples of 'a friend of mine, who' here:
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TakaIt makes sense. But I've found many examples of 'a friend of mine, who' here:
Using a comma makes the relative clause nonrestrictive, which seems to be possible if whoever writes a sentence that way wants to take a slightly different view. I didn't think of that when I wrote my first post. My apologies for that. There are so many angles to consider.
C
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