TSA CBT Practice Test

How are nonrestrictive phrases and clauses punctuated?

1. They are always at the beginning of a sentence.

2. They are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

3. They do not require any punctuation.

4. They are separated by semicolons.

The correct answer is: They are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

Nonrestrictive phrases and clauses provide additional information that can be omitted without altering the overall meaning of the sentence. This is why they are set off by commas. The commas signal to the reader that the information within the nonrestrictive element can be skipped without losing the primary message of the sentence. For instance, in the sentence "My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting," the phrase "who lives in New York" gives extra information about "my brother" but is not essential to understand the main point of the sentence. The use of commas makes this distinction clear. Other options suggest incorrect applications or placements of nonrestrictive clauses and phrases. They do not begin sentences on their own, they require commas, they cannot exist completely without punctuation if they are included in the sentence, and semicolons are used in different grammatical contexts.