Grammar Troubles: Relative Clauses
Relative Clauses: The Comma Question
Relative clauses are not always set off by commas in English. If the relative clause is necessary to understand the basic meaning of the sentence, then you do not use commas. (Necessary = No comma) The people who live next door have a poodle. (Without the relative clause it is unclear which people you mean. Thus, it is necessary, and you have no comma.) If the relative clause provides extra information which is not necessary to understand the sentence, you do need commas. (Unnecessary = comma) The Hills, who live next door, have a poodle. (It is already clear which people are being talked about; the fact that they live next door is an extra detail. It is unnecessary, so you set it off with commas.) The question of "necessary" vs. "unnecessary" may depend upon the meaning of the sentence. Sometimes the sentence is grammatically correct with or without a comma, but the meaning changes depending on the punctuation. Her husband who died last year had been sick for many years. (If you do not use a comma, you are saying the information "who died last year" is necessary to understand the sentence. That means she had more than one husband, and you must include this information to indicate which one you are referring to.) Her husband, who died last year, had been sick for many years. (If you use commas, you are saying the information "who died last year" is not necessary to understand who it is you are talking about. In other words, she only had one husband, whom you have already identified, so the clause is extra information.)
Relative Clauses: Who, Whom, Which, That
Who: used when you are referring to people, groups of people, or personified animals (who if it is the subject) A friend who is now living in Scotland will be coming to visit next week. Her sister, who is now living in Scotland, is coming to visit next week. Whom: used when you are referring to people, groups of people, or personified animals (whom if it is an object) The person with whom I spoke on the phone said he could not help me. My sister's husband, with whom I spoke yesterday, said they would be coming on Sunday. Which: used for things; used to introduce both "necessary" and "unnecessary" relative clauses (thus it may or may not be set off by commas) The books which we need for this class are quite expensive. The books for the class, which I really don't feel like reading, are all quite long. She showed me her vacation pictures, which were actually quite interesting. Witch: has nothing to do with relative clauses; has a black hat and flies on a broomstick on Halloween That: used for things; ONLY used to introduce "necessary" relative clauses, and thus is NOT set off by commas Is this one of the pictures that you took last week? What: has as much a right to be in this list as "witch"! What is NOT used to introduce relative clauses!
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