Can anyone good at English grammar help me in that issue?
@evergreentree (51)
Vietnam
July 5, 2011 10:02am CST
I got confused when reading the material of using "restrictive clause" and "non-restrictive clause". The usage is stated below:
Non-restrictive clause: An adjectives clause that can be omitted from the sentence without affecting the basics meaning of the sentence should be set off by a commas
Restrictive clause: An adjective clause that cannot be omitted from the sentence without affecting the basics meaning of the sentence should not be set off by a commas.
I understand the usage of them but can I used Verb-ed form for the non-restrictive clause
Ex: The book, which was written by Peter, are popular with American people.
I read a book that stated we cannot ommit which in the sentence above but I also read the grammar from a book that we can rewrite the sentence as following:
The book, written by Peter, are popular with American people.
So can you help me choose the correct sentence. Thanks in a bunch ^^
1 person likes this
1 response
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
5 Jul 11
These English grammar rules will make your head spin. I write for a living and I sometimes still screw them up.
Basically, the restrictive/non-restrictive clause can be skipped if you don't wish to follow any "rules."
Example: My Oakland Raiders glass that you broke meant a lot to me.
In a restrictive clause, I have already removed "which" and replaced it with "that," but you can go a step further and ditch it altogether - "My Oakland Raiders glass you broke meant a lot to me."
Your sentence, "The book, which was written by Peter, are popular with American people."
You can write it: Peter's book is popular with the American people. The book written by Peter is popular with the American people.
You can always omit. There are many ways in which you can write that sentence. 
(There are many ways you can write that sentence. You can write that sentence in many ways.)
But your sentence looks fine to me. Just switch out "are" with "is." "Book" is singular.
(There are many ways you can write that sentence. You can write that sentence in many ways.)
But your sentence looks fine to me. Just switch out "are" with "is." "Book" is singular.
