restrictive (adj.)

A contrast recognized in the GRAMMATICAL analysis of PHRASES, referring to the semantic relationship of a MODIFYING structure to its accompanying HEAD word. In restrictive modification, the LINGUISTIC identity of the head is dependent upon the accompanying modification; if it is not, the modification being inessential, the term non-restrictive is used. The contrast is illustrated by the two meanings of the sentence Look at John’s black dog; with the emphasis on dog, the implication is that John has one dog with him, which happens to be black (i.e. the modification is non-restrictive); but with the emphasis on black the implication is that John has more than one dog with him, and our attention is being drawn to the black one (i.e. the blackness is crucial to the identity of the dog, and the modification is thus restrictive). Several areas of grammar illustrate this contrast, such as RELATIVE clauses and APPOSITIONAL constructions.