To test if a clause is indeed nonessential, leave it out and reread the sentence. Conversely, a nonessential clause is set off by punctuation that visually marks it as separate from the main part of the sentence. An essential clause is not set off by commas or other internal punctuation marks, such as dashes or parentheses, with the understanding that it is a necessary part of the sentence. Punctuation, or lack thereof, can help identify an essential or nonessential clause. Punctuation Identifies Nonessential Clauses
For example, in "Fall, which is my favorite season, begins next week," "which is my favorite season" is a nonessential clause that does not affect the statement "Fall begins next week." Because it does not restrict or modify the word Fall, the clause can also be described as nonrestrictive in contrast, since an essential clause restricts or modifies a word, it may be referred to as restrictive. For example, in "Bonuses are given to employees who meet their sales quotas," the who clause limits which employees receive bonuses, making it essential to the sentence's statement.Ī nonessential clause is essentially an aside or provider of superfluous information about a preceding word that might be interesting but is insignificant to the sentence's main point. Essential is used to describe a clause that is an important part of a sentence because it modifies a key word.
As their descriptors suggest, essential and nonessential clauses are opposite.
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