Practice 31: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

STEP 1 Underline the relative clause or clauses. (Some sentences have two.)

STEP 2 Write R for restrictive and NR for nonrestrictive clause in the parentheses.

STEP 3 Add commas to restrictive clauses.

Example

The Senator whose family was politically active in Massachusetts visited China (R)

Senator Kennedy, whose family was politically active in Massachusetts, visited China (NR)

1. The sun which in forty minutes can produce enough solar energy to meet man’s needs for a
year is one of the earth’s potential sources of power. ( ……)
2. All tobacco companies whose goal is to get the public to buy their cigarettes claim that their
particular brands have the lowest nicotine and tar content. (…….)
3. According to an article which the professor cited we are at the door of the medical computer
revolution. (……)
4. The machine that analyses and delivers laboratory test and electrogram results is a medical
computer. (……)
5. Laser beams which are useful in both medicine and industry were first predicted in science
fiction stories thirty years ago. (……)
6. Physicians who feed patient symptoms into the computer receive a list of diseases that fit the
symptoms of their patients. (……)
7. The country that has the highest per capita income is not the United States which is only in
third place. (……)
8. Kuwait which is a small country in the Middle East is in the first place. (……)
9. It was a thrilling experience to meet the author of the book that we had been reading all
semester. (……)
10. The public is highly suspicious of the oil industry whose profits have been increasing in spite
of the energy crisis. (……)
11. Carbohydrates which are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are organic compounds.
(……)
12. Foreigners who do not understand American “body language” may be confused when they
talk to Americans. (……)
13. People who use body language to express themselves are interesting to watch. (……)
14. Italian people who use their hands a lot when they are talking are especially well-known
body-language practitioners. (……)
15. The man whom my sister married is Italian; he uses his hands almost continually when he is
carrying on a conversation. (……)
16. First National Bank where we have our savings account recently raised its interest rates, so
we are earning more on our savings. (……)
17. The president gave several reasons why he didn’t want to sign the bill but his opponents
didn’t believe any of them. (……)
18. Americans celebrate their Independence Day on July 4 th which is the day when the
Declaration of Independence was signed; it is not the day when the United States actually
achieved independence. (……)
19. All business are closed on Christmas Day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
(……)
20. Professor Rosenbaum whose courses are highly popular with the student was given an award
for outstanding teaching. (……)