We have learned a lot about using clauses. Here we are going to be learning another way that we can use clauses to add information to sentences.
There are two types of clauses: restrictive clauses and nonrestrictive clauses.
Restrictive Clauses
All the clauses that you have learned about so far are restrictive clauses. These clauses help answer the question 'Which one?' and serve to show how one thing is different to all the other things.
In a sentence with a restrictive clause, the restrictive clause is necessary to make the meaning of the sentence clear.
Alexander Graham Bell was an inventor who invented the telephone.
The point of this sentence is to say that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Without the clause, the sentence cannot convey its meaning.
Nonrestrictive Clauses
A nonrestrictive clause, however, is the opposite. A nonrestrictive clause gives you extra information. This information is not necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence. In fact, you could take out the whole clause and the sentence would still make sense.
Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone, was very passionate about working with the hearing impaired.
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