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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
relative clauses with indefinite articles
0 00 Is there a difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences? Are either in each pair preferable? Are either wrong? 02 br
02 br
00 They own a small shop which sells a variety of products. 02 br
00 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 02 br
02 br
00 They're looking for an employee who will manage the accounts. 02 br
00 They're looking for an employee, who will will manage the accounts. 02 br
02 br
00 Does the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses diminish when they refer back to an indefinite noun clause? Why? 00 0-
02 br
00 They own a small shop which sells a variety of products. 02 br
00 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 02 br
02 br
00 They're looking for an employee who will manage the accounts. 02 br
00 They're looking for an employee, who will will manage the accounts. 02 br
02 br
00 Does the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses diminish when they refer back to an indefinite noun clause? Why? 00 0-
Top answer
0 In my view, the adjective clauses represent restrictive (essential) elements in your examples. As such, they SHOULDN’T be set off by any commas. 0-
- 0 In my view, the adjective clauses represent restrictive (essential) elements in your examples.
- As such, they SHOULDN’T be set off by any commas.
- 0-
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5 Answers
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0 In my view, the adjective clauses represent restrictive (essential) elements in your examples. As such, they SHOULDN’T be set off by any commas. 02 br
02 br
00 If all you want to say is, "They own a small shop" or "They're looking for an employee" and the info about what they sell or the duty of the employee is not important or secondary, why then even have it there and set off
02 br
00 If all you want to say is, "They own a small shop" or "They're looking for an employee" and the info about what they sell or the duty of the employee is not important or secondary, why then even have it there and set off
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 Anonymous 12 cite 10 Is there a difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences? Are either in each pair preferable? Are either wrong? 12 br
12 br
10 They own a small shop which sells a variety of products. 12 br
10 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 12 br
12 br
00
0 00 They own a small shop which sells a variety of products. 01 font 00 defining 02 font 02 br
00 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 01 font 00 no comma allowed becase the relative clause modifies something still indefinite to the listener. 02 font 02 br
02 br
00 They're lo
00 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 01 font 00 no comma allowed becase the relative clause modifies something still indefinite to the listener. 02 font 02 br
02 br
00 They're lo
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 Anonymous 12 cite 10 They own a small shop which sells a variety of products. 12 br10 If they own two small shops -- or perhaps even more -- using a comma would be wrong. So the first sentence suggests that the
10 They own a small shop, which sells a variety of products. 12 br
12 blockquote
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0 Without the comma, the relative clause adds information relevant to the specific kind of shop or employee that the speaker is talking about. 02 br
00 With the comma, the relative clause just adds parenthetical information. 02 br
02 br
00 I see them with the following meanings (in the same order as you gave them): 02 br
02 br
00 The kind of shop t
00 With the comma, the relative clause just adds parenthetical information. 02 br
02 br
00 I see them with the following meanings (in the same order as you gave them): 02 br
02 br
00 The kind of shop t
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