, held in memory of Moses and Aaron

Why is there a comma in ", held in"? What is the difference between with and without comma?
Usually a comma is inserted to describe a farther thing, but this is describing the closest one, festival.

ex)Each year in Twinsburg, Ohio, the world's largest gathering of twins takes place. Thousands of sets of twins attend the festival, held in memory of Moses and Aaron Wilcox, the pair of twin brothers who gave Twinsburg its name......

keannu said:

Why is there a comma in ", held in"? What is the difference between with and without comma? The commas around", (which is) held in memory of Moses and Aaron Wilcox," make this a non-defining clause.
Usually a comma is inserted to describe a farther thing, but this is describing the closest one, festival. I don't know where you got that idea..

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5

5jj said:

5

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Can you tell me how it is interpreted as a non-defining phrase?

keannu said:

Can you tell me how it is interpreted as a non-defining phrase?

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Each year in Twinsburg, Ohio, the world's largest gathering of twins takes place. Thousands of sets of twins attend the festival, 1.held in memory of Moses and Aaron Wilcox, 2. the pair of twin brothers 3.who gave Twinsburg its name)......

1. (in blue): this gives us extra information about the festival. It (and the following words) could be omitted, and the sentence would still make sense. Non-defining.
2, (underlined): This gives us extra information about Moses and Aaron Wilcox. Ot could be omitted , and the sentence would still make sense. Non defining.
3. (In red): This tells us which twin brothers we are talking about. It cannot be omitted. Defining.

In the two non-defining clauses, the commas wcould be replaced by brackets. with the defining clause, there is no comma.

It would be possible to say and write #1 as a defining clause, with no comma preceding it.

Could a simpler explanation of the use of the comma in question be that in such a long sentence that's where the writer thought you'd want to take a breath if you were reading it aloud?

Rover

Rover_KE said:

Could a simpler explanation of the use of the comma in question be that in such a long sentence that's where the writer thought you'd want to take a breath if you were reading it aloud?

Rover

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Only if the author was ignorant of the use of a comma here to differentiate the type of clause. Any writer familiar with this concept would pause to consider whether he wanted a restrictive or non-restrictive clause, and then either put a comma in or not.

Well I'm not a grammarian, you see, and I doubt that more than 1% of native speakers know the difference between those types of clause (or care).

Rover

Rover_KE said:

I doubt that more than 1% of native speakers know the difference between those types of clause (or care).

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You are possibly right - as far as the labels are concerned. However, those people who use both types in speech (and non-defining clauses are not that common in everyday speech) will indicate the difference in meaning by appropriate pauses. Similarly, Many people who do use them in writing will have learnt the appropriate punctuation.

The important thing is not the labels, but the fact that there is a real difference in meaning between the two types.

Rover_KE said:

Well I'm not a grammarian, you see, and I doubt that more than 1% of native speakers know the difference between those types of clause (or care).

Rover

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That's lamentably true, I suppose, but the writer of that sentence has correctly used commas before and after that example, so the odds are far greater than 1% that s/he knows the rule. Add to that the correct use of capital letters, punctuation and grammar, and I think it's not unlikely that the writer of that sentence knows, and has used, the rule.