What is a nonrestrictive element?

A nonrestrictive element is a word, phrase, or clause that provides additional information about a sentence but is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Nonrestrictive elements are set off by commas and can be removed from the sentence without changing the main message or meaning.

For example, in the sentence "My sister, who lives in New York, is coming to visit next week," the phrase "who lives in New York" is a nonrestrictive element. If we remove this phrase, the main message of the sentence ("My sister is coming to visit next week") remains unchanged.

Nonrestrictive elements are often used to provide additional detail, explanation, or emphasis in a sentence. They can be adjectives, adverbs, relative clauses, or any other type of phrase that adds extra information without being necessary for the sentence to make sense.