Helping others is a habit,____ you can learn even at an early age.

[emsr2d2]

"He admires Mrs. Brown, which surprises me." ( = and THIS surprises me) -- Quirk and Greenbaum, A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English.

"The night was dark, which made the journey dangerous." -- Smart, English Review Grammar.

"We are going to move quickly, which is just what our opponents do not expect." -- Pence and Emery, A Grammar of Present-Day English.

I think it's only fair to point out to the OP that Quirk and Greenbaum, A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English was written in 1985, which could probably be considered "contemporary". However, Pence and Emery, A Grammar of Present-Day English, was written in 1963 and W K Smart's English Review Grammar most recent edition appears to be from 1942.

Whilst it is true that many points of grammar have not changed for decades, if not centuries, and I don't dispute any of the examples given above, learners should be aware that there are much more up-to-date grammar guides which are invaluable when dealing with modern structures.

 

[TheParser]

You native speakers instinctively know that ‘you can learn even at an early age’ should be a restrictive relative clause to ‘habit’, not a non-restrictive one. Could I say that?

Thank you very much for your very kind words.

Regarding your question, I want you to get the most accurate answer possible, so I will let a teacher answer it.


James

 

[Matthew Wai]

http://linguapress.com/grammar/relative-clauses.htm#defining
After reading the above, I think that a non-restrictive clause is not essential for an understanding of the sentence. The OP's clause is essential and thus a restrictive clause. Am I right or wrong?

Not a teacher.