Commas for Extra Info for Kids: Nonrestrictive Clauses Explained (Grade 6 and 7 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Some parts of a sentence give bonus information. You could remove them and the main meaning would stay the same. Today we will learn how commas wrap around that extra information.

Information that is extra, and not needed to identify the noun, is called nonrestrictive. Put commas around it. My brother, who loves pizza, is twelve. I have one brother, so the clause just adds a fun fact.

Information that is needed to tell which one we mean is called restrictive. It gets no commas. The student who won the race got a medal. Without that clause, we would not know which student.

Try the removal test. Cover the extra part and reread. If the sentence still makes sense and still points to the same person or thing, the part is nonrestrictive, so use commas.

Watch which and that. In American English, which usually starts nonrestrictive clauses and takes commas. That starts restrictive clauses with no commas. Our van, which is blue, needs gas. The van that is blue needs gas.

Appositives work the same way. An appositive is a noun phrase that renames another noun. Ms. Diaz, our coach, blew the whistle. Remember to use two commas when the extra part is in the middle of a sentence.

Now it's your turn. Add commas? Mount Everest which is the tallest mountain on Earth is in Asia. Pause and try. Yes! There is only one Everest, so the clause is extra and needs commas around it.

Great job! Extra information is nonrestrictive and gets commas. Needed information is restrictive and gets none. Use the removal test. Practice commas for extra info in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!