English B2 · Relative clauses: defining and non-defining
영어 B2 주제 8 4:15 영어 내레이션 · 영어 + 중국어 자막 burned-in
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B1 gave you the relative clause; B2 adds the comma question. Defining, no commas: the students who studied passed — only the studiers; the clause identifies which ones. Non-defining, with commas: my father, who never studied, passed — we already know which person, and the clause is just a comment. The memory hook: commas are brackets of love. They hug information that could be deleted. No commas means the information is doing identification work.
The defining clause has no commas, and the noun needs it: without the clause, we don't know which one. The book that I bought yesterday is missing; delete the clause and the library has questions. Students who revise do better; the revisers, specifically. Here that is welcome, and in object position the glue can be dropped: the book I bought.
The non-defining clause comes with commas, and it is a comment you could delete. My bike, which is very old, was stolen; you know my bike, the age is a bonus. Chengdu, where I ate hotpot every day, is my favourite city. Our head teacher, whose patience is legendary, announced a holiday. Two firm rules: that is banned here, and the glue can never be dropped; and a comma pair needs both commas, because one comma is a bracket left open and the sentence leaks.
Pause and choose. My bike, which is very old, was stolen. A non-defining clause takes which, never that, and the glue can never be dropped. The old bike deserved better commas and a better lock.
The meaning flip. My brother who lives in Beijing is a doctor: no commas, so the clause picks out the Beijing one among several. My brother, who lives in Beijing, is a doctor: commas, so the listener can already tell which brother — often because there is only one, but not always: my brother, who lives in Beijing, is a doctor; my other brother, the Shanghai one, is a nurse. The commas signal identified, not counted. Chinese hides this choice inside the phrase; English makes you choose.
Pause and choose. The last one. The commas signal that the listener can already tell which brother — often because there is only one, but they do not guarantee it: my brother, who lives in Beijing, is a doctor, and my other brother is a nurse is fine English. Identified by the commas, not counted by them.
Four guards. Never drop the glue in a non-defining clause: my bike, which is very old, was stolen. Close the comma pair, because one comma is a bracket left open. Never use that after the comma. And remember whose loves both types: the boy whose dog is famous; Li, whose dog is famous, sits beside me.
Describe your life with both clause types, choosing commas by what the listener already knows. Define: the noodles that I eat every day are cheap; the expensive ones remain uneaten. Comment: my cat, who has never paid rent, was sleeping on my homework; you already know which cat, and the rent is a bonus. Declare: the exam, which nobody feared, is on Monday — when the listener already knows which exam. If not: the exam that nobody feared is on Monday, and the feared one is also on Monday. Sorry.
Pause for four checks. The students who studied passed: defining, only the studiers. My father, who never studied, passed: non-defining, the father already identified. My bike, which is very old, was stolen: which, never that, both commas. And the book that I bought is missing: defining, and the glue may vanish. Next topic: the causative, where you never do the work yourself again.