From the course: Writing with Proper Punctuation

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How to use commas with nonrestrictive clauses

How to use commas with nonrestrictive clauses

From the course: Writing with Proper Punctuation

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How to use commas with nonrestrictive clauses

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- Non-restrictive elements are things that add extra information to your sentence, but don't change the big picture meaning if they aren't there. Think about this sentence. Lightning, which is created during electrical storms, causes fires in the West every summer. The part between the commas, which is created during electrical storms, is interesting but it's just extra information. With or without it, the main point in the sentence is that lightning starts fires in the West every summer. And non-restrictive clauses like that should be surrounded by commas. Here's another example. The firefighters, whom I saw battling the blaze, were exhausted. And this is where the commas are important for letting your readers know whether you've written a non-restrictive or restrictive clause. Because with the commas, it means whom I saw battling the blaze is just extra information. In other words, all the firefighters were…

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