Regarding Non restrictive clause

Question

Hi ,

Need help in understanding non restrictive clause in the below sentence .

Sentence -  The cat, that (or which) has the broken leg, is in my yard again .

How "that has the broken leg "is a non restrictive clause here ? I think that we are not talking about any cat here , as per my view we are talking about the specific cat that has a broken leg is in my yard again therefore it must be a restrictive clause.

dentobizz · Answer

Yes , you are right
The cat that has a broken leg is in my yard-- is the correct sentence.
please note comma +that is incorrect on the gmat (comma+which is fine)
The cat with the broken leg is in my yard --is also correct.

eshan333 · Answer

But in GMAT Grammar book on page no 257 it is given that this is an example of Non restrictive clause.

dentobizz · Answer

The question in the gmammar book exercise says either that (without comma) or comma+which construction will work in this case. Both are acceptable

aditya8062 · Answer

i will put in my thoughts here 
The distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive sentences is based on the fact that we should be able to decide which one we ACTUALLY need. for instance

The cat that has a broken leg is in my yard ---> is correct

HOWEVER

The cat,which has a broken leg, is in my yard ----> is WRONG

ON THE OTHER HAND
 
 The black cat,which has a broken leg, is in my yard -----> is correct 
 
WHERE AS
 
 The black cat that has a broken leg is in my yard ------> is WRONG

EducationAisle · Answer

While I have not gone thru the book, perhaps the reason for this is that GMAT does not explicitly test you on  this  difference ( Restrictive Vs Non-restrictive ).

However, there are other other differences between  which  and  that  that GMAT does test you on; it's important that test takers develop a  robust  understanding of these differences ( especially  on the differences on  what  "which" and "that" can  modify ).

Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses differences between   which Vs that  , their application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id, I can mail the corresponding section.

Regarding Non restrictive clause

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