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Considering the following two sentences:

  1. My brother, who lives in LA, is an engineer.
  2. My brother who lives in LA is an engineer.

My questions are:

  1. Are they both correct, grammatically?
  2. If yes, then does it mean that in written English, when it comes to defining vs. non-defining relative clauses, the pair of commas is the only way of telling the meaning that the author is trying to convey because, otherwise, the sentence can mean either way, correct?
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The 'comma pair' you're using in example 1 are parenthetical commas. They could be replaced by brackets:

My brother (who lives in LA) is an engineer.

Information contained within parentheses - either commas or brackets - is useful, but not essential information. Parenthetical information is by definition non-defining.

Yes, both your examples are grammatical, but without the parenthetical commas it comes over as defining information. Perhaps you have more than one brother, and you are telling us precisely which brother is an engineer - the one that lives in LA, as opposed to the others that presumably live elsewhere.

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  • Does it mean that my point in question #2 is correct?
    – A Slow Learner
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 9:53
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    @ASlowLearner Yes in this case... I'm slightly hesitant to tell you that 2 commas always means non-defining because some native speakers overuse commas. The 'comma splice' is one of the most common errors in written English. And in informal prose, commas sometimes mimic pauses made in extemporaneous speech, so they aren't as carefully placed. But generally speaking, in carefully written English, your assumption is correct.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 10:11
  • Thank you very much!
    – A Slow Learner
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 10:30

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