Nonessential Clauses

Which punctuation mark is used to set off nonessential clauses?

• exclamation mark

• period

• comma

• question mark

What is the purpose of nonessential clauses in a sentence?

• To alter the meaning of the main clause.

• To provide additional information about a noun or pronoun without changing the meaning of the main clause.

• To add unnecessary details to a sentence.

• To confuse the reader with extra information.

True or False: Nonessential clauses can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning.

• Only in certain cases

• Sometimes

• True

• False

In the sentence 'The book, which was written by a famous author, became a bestseller.', which part is the nonessential clause?

• which was written by a famous author

• by a famous author

• became a bestseller

• The book

Which of the following sentences contains a correctly punctuated nonessential clause? a) The dog who is very friendly loves to play. b) The dog, who is very friendly, loves to play. c) The dog who is very friendly, loves to play. d) The dog who is very friendly loves to play.

• d) The dog who is very friendly loves to play..

• c) The dog who is very friendly, loves to play.

• a) The dog who is very friendly loves to play.

• b) The dog, who is very friendly, loves to play.

What punctuation mark is used to enclose a nonessential clause when it appears in the middle of a sentence?

• commas

• brackets

• dashes

• parentheses

Which of the following sentences contains a nonessential clause? a) The car that is parked outside is mine. b) The car, that is parked outside, is mine. c) The car that is parked outside, is mine. d) The car that is parked outside is mine.

• d) The car that is parked outside is mine.

• b) The car, that is parked outside, is mine.

• a) The car that is parked outside is mine.

• c) The car that is parked outside, is mine.

True or False: Nonessential clauses are always set off by commas.

• Nonessential clauses are not always set off by commas. They can also be set off by dashes or parentheses.

• Nonessential clauses are always set off by dashes.

• Nonessential clauses are never set off by commas.

• Nonessential clauses are only set off by parentheses.

In the sentence 'My sister, who is a doctor, lives in New York.', what is the nonessential clause?

• who is a doctor

• In the sentence

• lives in New York.

• My sister

What is the correct punctuation for the nonessential clause in the sentence 'The movie which was released last week was a box office hit.'?

• parentheses

• dashes

• commas

• semicolons