Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The use or omission of commas round relative clauses


In Longman English Grammar Practice, there is a practice question in which you would say what the sentences mean with and without commas.




My brother who is in Canada is an architect.



Without commas: I have another brother or other brothers somewhere else.


With commas: I have only one brother.


I am perplexed by this. How do you come to this answer? I thought the whole use of commas in this instance was to provide additional, unnecessary information. If there are commas used, then it means that him living in Canada is just additional information that has no relation to him being an architect. If commas are not used, then him living in Canada is important for him being an architect. Please correct me if I am wrong.




No comments:

Post a Comment

Simple past, Present perfect Past perfect

Can you tell me which form of the following sentences is the correct one please? Imagine two friends discussing the gym... I was in a good s...