Question

(1) Yo-Yo Ma who was born in Paris is a Chinese American cellist. (2) He was a prodigy and started performing violin and piano pieces at the age of four. (3) He attended two of the best schools in the USA: Julliard and Harvard. (4) The cello he plays was built in 1733. (5) He calls his cello "Petunia.â (6) He is an amazing soloist, and has recorded over 90 albums.
A) Which sentence contains an error in the use of a nonrestrictive clause?


1. Sentence 1

2. Sentence 3

3. Sentence 4


B) Which revision would correct this error?


1. Yo-Yo Ma: who was born:

2. Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris,

3. Paris, is a Chinese American cellist

Answer 1

A) sentence one

B) Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris,

(1)Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris, is a Chinese American cellist. (2) He was a prodigy and started performing violin and piano pieces at the age of four. (3) He attended two of the best schools in the USA: Julliard and Harvard. (4) The cello he plays was built in 1733. (5) He calls his cello "Petunia.â (6) He is an amazing soloist, and has recorded over 90 albums.

Answer 2

Answer:

A) 1. Sentence 1

B) 2. Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris,

Explanation:

Adjective clauses, which are the ones that modify or describe nouns, can be either nonrestrictive or restrictive. Nonrestrictive clauses are those whose content is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, and therefore, should always be set off by commas.

The sentence 1 “Yo-Yo Ma who was born in Paris is a Chinese American cellist” contains an error because the nonrestrictive clause “who was born in Paris” is not set off by commas as it should. The revision that would correct this error is Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris, is a Chinese American cellist.