who were creating/commas

[navi tasan]

1-Three men were arrested in our small town last week who were creating a drunken disturbance.

2-Three men were arrested in our small town last week, who were creating a drunken disturbance.

Let us assume that those three men were the only ones arrested last week in our town. I suppose technically it would be preferable to use "2", as the clause in it is non-restrictive. But is the sentence natural? Would you say the sentence with a pause where there is a comma? And could not one use "1" instead of "2"?

Which of the these two is correct:
3-They arrested Jack Smith last week who is the mayor's son.

4-They arrested Jack Smith last week, who is the mayor's son.

Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[5jj]

None of the sentences is very natural. Try to keep the relative pronoun as close to its antecedent as possible:

Last week, three men who were creating a drunken disturbance were arrested in our small town.

It's up to the speaker/writer to decide whether a restrictive or non-restrictive clause is appropriate.

In your other example, only a non-restrictive clause is appropriate:

Last week, they arrested Jack Smith, who is the mayor's son.


2