restrictive clause
1
7.5
- noun
- /rɪˈstrɪktɪv klɔz/
- Specialized
:
cláusula restrictiva
- The comma before "that" (#7) in a restrictive clause definitely makes me stumble sometimes, as well as the overuse of -ing (#6).
Examples
-
Having concluded that NSC had engaged in a practice of anticompetitive acts, the Tribunal went on to consider whether, under the circumstances, the restrictive clauses had the effect of preventing or lessening competition substantially in the market in Canada.
Academic text (1991) -
Unless there is a restrictive clause in someone else's contract, whoever wants to rent from me rents from me.
Fiction book (1991) -
I do not read as much into the omission of the second of these two articles in the new Chapter VI as I do with regard to the restrictive clause omitted from the text of Article 17 in the new law.
Academic text (2016) -
Restrictive clauses don't take a comma prefix.
Blog text (24) -
A restrictive clause provides essential details that help clarify which person or thing is being referred to in the sentence.
-
In the sentence "The book that you borrowed is on the table," the phrase "that you borrowed" is a restrictive clause because it specifies which book is being discussed.
-
Understanding how to identify a restrictive clause is crucial for mastering complex sentence structures in English.
Antonyms
- Specialized
A part of a sentence that gives more information about a noun but does not change which noun we mean
How Restrictive
- Specialized
1
7.5
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is compositional: 'restrictive' means serving to limit and 'clause' is a unit of sentence structure, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a clause that limits or defines a noun. This adjective+noun construction and the notion of a limiting clause are cross-linguistically common, making the expression readily understandable to B1 learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Restrictive clause is named for how a small part of a sentence 'limits' which thing we mean. Imagine the clause as a label that points to one exact book on a shelf and restrictive as the rule that leaves out the others, so the information is needed and not set off by commas.