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Rose
Professional Teacher💬 WHO and COMMAS in Relative Clauses
Perhaps you’ve come across the following sentences:
“My sister, who is a nurse, lives in Chicago.”
“My sister who is a nurse lives in Chicago.”
They look the same, so which one is correct? 🤔
Both ✅
They are both correct, but they send a different message.
EXPLANATION
1️⃣ My sister, who is a nurse, lives in Chicago.
- The speaker has one sister.
- The information “who is a nurse” is extra information.
- We already know who the speaker is talking about, so the clause is not necessary.
💡 That’s why we use commas.
2️⃣ My sister who is a nurse lives in Chicago.
- The speaker has more than one sister.
- The information “who is a nurse” is essential to identify which sister they mean.
💡 We cannot remove it, so there are no commas.
Rule to remember:
If the information is extra -> use commas.
If the information is necessary -> no commas
#relative clauses
Jan 22, 2026 4:55 AM
Rose
Language Skills
Arabic (Egyptian), Czech, English, Russian
Learning Language
Arabic (Egyptian)
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