Which sentence contains a restrictive clause?

If you're trying to identify restrictive clauses in a sentence, here's your explanation—complete with examples and tips to spot them easily. For help with other grammar concepts, NewAssignmentHelpUSA has you covered.

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1. The book that I borrowed from the library is overdue.
2. My sister, who lives in New York, is visiting next week.
3. I bought a new car, which is red and very fast.
4. The restaurant, where we had dinner, was crowded.

The answer is sentence (1). The book that I borrowed from the library is overdue. Restrictive clauses are the part of the sentence that specifies information about the noun it describes. Without the presence of a restrictive clause, the sentence wouldn’t be specific and would have unclear meaning. Moreover, they are not separated by the commas.

The other sentences although they specify some information about the noun, do so without any apparent reasons. For example, the second sentence, “Who lives in New York” provides extra information about the noun. Moreover, it does so without using the commas.

An easy way to understand whether a sentence contains a restrictive clause is to check if it has unnecessary information and if its meaning will become vague without the part mentioned in the text in “___”. On the other hand, a restrictive clause explains necessary information about the noun and generally uses the word "that." You can use these to easily identify where the restrictive clauses are used or where they weren’t.