I'd like to thank my friends, who truly have bettered my life.

Which one is correct?

1. I'd like to thank my friends, who truly have bettered my life.
2. I'd like to thank my friends who truly have bettered my life.

They're both possible but they don't mean the same. Can you work out the difference?

emsr2d2 said:

Can you work out the difference?

Click to expand...

Not really.

I think with comma, it would be like we're adding extra information. Without comma, we have a defining adjective clause. Is there a big difference in terms of meaning?

In sentence #1, you're thanking all your friends and saying that they've bettered your life.
In sentence #2, you're thanking only those friends who have bettered your life. You have other friends who haven't done so.