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== Comma before nonrestrictive clause ==

== Response to your undoing my edit ==

A couple months ago, [https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Philip_Van_Doren_Stern&oldid=prev&diff=815793567 here], [[User:EEng]] undid my edit. I had added a comma before a nonrestrictive clause, stating in my edit summary "this relative clause is nonrestrictive". In undoing my edit, Eeng stated in the edit summary "actually it's restrictive".

This is the sentence in question:
:'''Philip Van Doren Stern''' (September 10, 1900 – July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and [[American Civil War|Civil War]] historian whose story [[The Greatest Gift (story)|''The Greatest Gift'']], published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' (1946).

I added a comma just before "whose".

Without the comma, the sentence implyies that there ''also'' is ''another'' "American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story ''The Greatest Gift'', published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946). The trouble is that there was ''not'' also another such person: there was only one—namely, Philip Van Doren Stern.

We can have
* "the" and a ''restrictive'' clause (he was ''the'' American author (and so on) whose story ''The Greatest Gift'' (and so on))
* or "a" and a ''nonrestrictive'' clause (unless there was more than one such person—which there wasn't).

I'm putting the comma back.

[[User:Preslethe|President Lethe]] ([[User talk:Preslethe|talk]]) 19:36, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

Revision as of 19:37, 25 February 2018

Comma before nonrestrictive clause

Response to your undoing my edit

A couple months ago, here, User:EEng undid my edit. I had added a comma before a nonrestrictive clause, stating in my edit summary "this relative clause is nonrestrictive". In undoing my edit, Eeng stated in the edit summary "actually it's restrictive".

This is the sentence in question:

Philip Van Doren Stern (September 10, 1900 – July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story The Greatest Gift, published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

I added a comma just before "whose".

Without the comma, the sentence implyies that there also is another "American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story The Greatest Gift, published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946). The trouble is that there was not also another such person: there was only one—namely, Philip Van Doren Stern.

We can have

  • "the" and a restrictive clause (he was the American author (and so on) whose story The Greatest Gift (and so on))
  • or "a" and a nonrestrictive clause (unless there was more than one such person—which there wasn't).

I'm putting the comma back.

President Lethe (talk) 19:36, 25 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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