Wrong Pronoun

Pronouns are problematic. One way to know when to use a pronoun correctly is to know the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

A restrictive clause is one that is essential to the meaning of a sentence; however, a nonrestrictive clause is not essential to the full meaning of a sentence.

In the above example, which is used incorrectly. The phrase suffered severe structural damage is integral to the meaning of the sentence and is part of a restrictive clause. Without this phrase, the reader is left unsure why it is so important that the storm didn't occur an hour earlier.

The correct version of this sentence should read: Had the storm struck an hour earlier, there would have been 200 people in the sanctuary that suffered severe structural damage. The use of that in this sentence instead of which lets readers know if the storm had occurred an hour earlier, 200 people would have been injured because the sanctuary was severely damaged.

The full article for this story can be found in the Nov. 25 issue of Joliet's Herald News.