Restrictive

A restrictive relative clause, also known as a defining relative clause, is said to "specify"
the word it describes. Consider the following:

Employees who arrive late for work will be reprimanded.

Restrictive relative clause: who arrive late for work
Word being described or modified: employees

The relative clause informs the reader or listener which employees are being referred to.
In this case, the sentence refers to tardy employees. In this manner, the restrictive
relative clause "specifies" the word "employees". Without the restrictive relative clause,
the reader or listener would not know which specific employees are being referred to:

Employees will be reprimanded. (Which employees? All employees?)

Furthermore, when a restrictive relative clause is removed, the meaning of the main
clause changes. Compare the following:

Employees will be reprimanded. (The main clause seems to imply that ALL employees
will be reprimanded.)
Employees who arrive late for work will be reprimanded. (The relative clause clarifies
the meaning of the main clause. We now know that not all employees will be
reprimanded -- just the tardy ones.)

Non-restrictive

Non-restrictive relative clauses, on the other hand, simply provide additional

information to the word being described. Consider the following:

The company's main office, which is home to some 300 employees, can be found in
Berlin.
Non-restrictive relative clause: which is home to some 300 employees
Word being described or modified: (main) office

The non-restrictive relative clause simply provides extra information about the
company's main office. Even without the non-restrictive relative clause, we know which
office is being referred to (the main office). Consider the following:

The company's main office can be found in Berlin. (Which office is being referred to?
The main office.)

Furthermore, when the non-restrictive relative clause is removed, the meaning of the
main clause is retained. Consider the following:

The company's main office can be found in Berlin. (The main clause is talking about
where the main office is located.)
The company's main office, which is home to some 300 employees, can be found in
Berlin. (The main clause is STILL talking about where the main office is located; the
relative clause simply talks about how many employees work there.)

Additional notes

Comma usage

Strictly speaking, non-restrictive relative clauses should be set off from the main clause
using commas. However, this rule is no longer constantly enforced.

That vs. Which

Again, strictly speaking, the relative pronoun "that" should only be used with restrictive
relative clauses, while the relative pronoun "which" should only be used with non-
restrictive relative clauses. However, once again, this rule is no longer constantly
enforced, and "that" and "which" are often used interchangeably.

Relative clauses are dependent clauses beginning with relative pronouns

("who," "which," "that," "when," "where," "why," "whom," "whose").

Relative
Use Sample sentences
pronoun
That man, who comes here every day,
who for people
bought a loaf of bread.
A loaf of bread, which many people
which for things
buy, usually costs $5.
for people or things, when A loaf of bread that costs $2 cannot
that
the clause is restrictive be bought here.
I remember the day when I got this
when for times
job.
The office where I work is on Elm
where for places
Street.
Her pleasant disposition is the reason
for reasons (and it normally
why why her colleagues like working with
follows the word "reason")
her.
for people who are The client whom you emailed
whom
receiving the action yesterday replied this morning.
for the owner of the subject The chef whose cooking we enjoyed
whose
of the clause so much learned his art in Lyons.