IXL | Commas with nonrestrictive elements

If the appositive in bold is nonrestrictive, set it off with commas. If it is restrictive, submit the text without making any changes.

The Circus Maximus a former site of Roman chariot races and gladiator fights still draws crowds for public events.

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question

If the relative clause in bold is nonrestrictive, set it off with a comma. If it is restrictive, submit the text without making any changes.

"If you don't consider the audience that you're writing for, you may find yourself without an audience at all," the creative writing instructor cautioned her students.

key idea

Use commas to set off nonrestrictive information in a sentence. Nonrestrictive information is supplemental; it is not necessary in order for a reader to identify who or what is being discussed. Without the information, the meaning of the sentence would still be clear.

The Golden Gate Bridge, which first opened in 1937, took over four years to build.

The underlined information isn't required to interpret the sentence.

The Golden Gate Bridge took over four years to build.

Without the information, a reader still knows which bridge took four years to build.

Do not use commas to set off restrictive information in a sentence. Restrictive information is necessary in order for a reader to identify exactly who or what is being discussed. Without the information, the meaning of the sentence would become unclear.

The author J.K. Rowling was born in Yate, England.

The underlined information helps a reader identify which author is being discussed.

The author was born in Yate, England.

Without the information, a reader doesn't know which author is being discussed.

solution

The relative clause that you're writing for is restrictive. The information is needed to narrow down the audience being discussed, so do not set off the relative clause with commas.

"If you don't consider the audience that you're writing for, you may find yourself without an audience at all," the creative writing instructor cautioned her students.

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