26
votes
Accepted
"Outside there is a money receiver which only accepts coins" - or "that only accepts coins"? Which relative pronoun is better?
In prescriptive English, "which" should only introduce non-restrictive relative clauses, those that are offset by a comma and aren't intrinsic to the subject, but give more information about ...
- 8,495
22
votes
I received a gift from my sister who just got back from
This is a very good question.
Let me start by saying there are 2 kinds of relative clauses: defining and non-defining.
If you put a comma before "who," it will mean that you are giving extra ...
- 5,532
21
votes
Accepted
Interpretation of an integrated relative in "my brother who doesn't [live in New York]" in context
It is a bad question that doesn't test English skills and so should be ignored.
I believe the questioner wants you to notice the difference between:
Amanda, who lives in New York
and
my ...
- 231k
16
votes
"Outside there is a money receiver which only accepts coins" - or "that only accepts coins"? Which relative pronoun is better?
In this context, I think "that" and "which" are completely interchangeable and either one is completely acceptable.
the-baby-is-you's answer states that "In prescriptive ...
- 6,038
14
votes
"Outside there is a money receiver which only accepts coins" - or "that only accepts coins"? Which relative pronoun is better?
One issue is this:
It is extremely unlikely that an English speaker, in spoken English, would say
Outside there is a vending machine ...
They would say
There's a vending machine outside ...
given ...
- 1,225
12
votes
threw me in a cage like an animal
a. They threw me in a cage like an animal.
Is just fine. Brief, to the point, not a lot of room for the reader to get the wrong message.
The others are still OK, but progressively less to the point.
...
- 17.6k
12
votes
Accepted
"Of these two birds the male is that which is colored brighter"
There's nothing wrong with that which here.
You are mistaken in your belief that that must be employed with restrictive relative clauses: both that and wh- relatives may be used in this context.
The ...
- 176k
9
votes
Interpretation of an integrated relative in "my brother who doesn't [live in New York]" in context
I followed the link to the test. Although I couldn't see the test itself, I was able to locate the answers and then some further discussion (which, unfortunately, just makes everything worse):
This ...
- 36.4k
6
votes
threw me in a cage like an animal
The comma can be used to introduce a pause in the sentence. If the narrator only intended to say the first half at first, but then adds the second as an afterthought. In cases like that, you can even ...
- 315
6
votes
"Of these two birds the male is that which is colored brighter"
"That that" is acceptable grammatically, but it doesn't "sound good", and so should be avoided. Native speakers would probably prefer to avoid even coming near that construction, saying instead
"...
- 2,293
6
votes
"played the violin as/like my brother did"
We usually surround nonrestrictive / parenthetical phrases with paired commas. However, whether a phrase meets that condition is often quite debatable. When a phrase follows a verb that it modifies, ...
- 15.4k
4
votes
"Of these two birds the male is that which is colored brighter"
MMacD is correct that some of the language sounds "formal" but I think mistaken to suggest people who talk this way are "putting on airs".
A native speaker might use these structures in academic ...
- 88.5k
4
votes
"Outside there is a money receiver which only accepts coins" - or "that only accepts coins"? Which relative pronoun is better?
Outside there is a money receiver which only accepts coins.
I think the app is right that "that" is marginally more realistic than "which" in this sentence... but the sentence has ...
- 975
3
votes
I received a gift from my sister who just got back from
Not using a comma doesn't imply that you have more than one sister any more than the following sentence does:
I received a gift from my sister.
It's still possible that you have more than one ...
- 4,032
3
votes
threw me in a cage like an animal
The first one seems to be correct but its meaning is not what you want indeed.
They threw me in a cage like an animal.
The bold part is a prepositional phrase and refers to "throw" by indicating ...
- 882
3
votes
Interpretation of an integrated relative in "my brother who doesn't [live in New York]" in context
The given answer is incorrect, your answer was correct. There is not enough information to draw a correct conclusion from the given sentence, particularly in todays world. Evelyn could be undergoing ...
- 1,280
3
votes
Accepted
"which" vs "that" and comma before "which"
To make a "which" clause non-restrictive, you must enclose it in commas. That's how we tell the difference.
That said, in this context it doesn't make much difference. I suppose that a restrictive ...
- 68.8k
3
votes
Comma usage before relative clause
I think that should be "large machines." About the use of comma before the relative pronoun "which," the rule is that if the relative clause is not necessary and is just giving more information about ...
- 1,285
3
votes
as if in a superhero movie/as in a superhero movie
When you are talking about something that actually happens, you can use as:
Rob got quite drunk at the party, as he usually does.
You are talking about hypothetical situation, so you cannot use as....
- 61.4k
3
votes
Accepted
"That's your only friend that I've ever met." Why is this an impossible sentence?
I cannot perceive the awkwardness in "That's your only friend that I've ever met".
Good. In informal modern English, there isn't any.
The placement of the genitives and clauses here is no ...
- 4,911
3
votes
known around here as 'Tall Bobby'
I think it's clear that the sentence means that the mayor is known as "Tall Bobby." If you want to make it more clear, add a comma after town to make it 'the mayor of the town, known around ...
3
votes
Should we use comma before "when" or not? Is it a restrictive or non-restrictive clause?
Both sentences are correct, but have different meanings because of the restrictive/non-restrictive difference.
The first sentence means they take a holiday in January, presumably every year, because ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Is it a restrictive clause and, if so, why?
That depends on whether you use the comma or not. It may be confusing that the relative clause is at the end, making it look optional.
Non-restrictive
We live in a submarine, which is painted yellow....
- 48
2
votes
Accepted
Is this sentence is relative restrictive clause? What does the sentence mean?
As peterG says, this is a typo for come out of nowhere, meaning "emerge unexpectedly".
The construction HAVE + NP + VERBINF means "experience the event of NP VERBing". The passive version drops the ...
- 176k
2
votes
Interpretation of an integrated relative in "my brother who doesn't [live in New York]" in context
It is a highly contrived question, and the answer given is simply wrong.
What appears to be the intent of the intended statement is to say I have only three siblings: these are my sister Amanda, my ...
- 32.2k
2
votes
Accepted
"The carrot, which was orange, was tasty"
The carrot, which was orange, was tasty
The carrot was tasty and was coloured orange
The commas are parenthetical commas, and enclose extra information about the preceding words ('the carrot')
which ...
- 75.7k
2
votes
known around here as 'Tall Bobby'
It is a dangling or misplaced modifer. In writing you should probably consider rephrasing.
However its not a particularly bad or amusing example. Pragmatically there is no doubt that "Tall ...
- 231k
2
votes
Should we use comma before "when" or not? Is it a restrictive or non-restrictive clause?
Both are correct, though they have different meanings.
In the first sentence, you are not restricting "January". Thus, January is always when there is very little business in their store.
In ...
- 15.4k
2
votes
first child born out of wedlock
Your sentences A and A1 mean exactly the same thing because A is an abbreviated form of A1. Sentence B has a different meaning.
Both sentences mean that she had other children out of wedlock after ...
- 51.1k
1
vote
Accepted
Analyzing "This was the long way, which we had to go"
The sentence is grammatically correct.
This was the long way, which we had to go.
As written, the clause is non-restrictive or non-defining, because it is separated by a comma and uses the ...
- 793
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