The time (,) when this took place(,) was five o’clock.

[neb090]

1. The time (,) when this took place(,) was five o’clock.
2. The village(,) where I was born(,) is very small.

In the above two sentence, is the usage of relative adverbs (when and where) the same with with relative pronoun? Whether it should have commas depends on whether the writer thinks the information is necessary/important or not.

Am I right?

 

[jutfrank]

The commas govern whether the information contained in the relative clause is defining or not, yes.

The time at which this took place was 5 o'clock.
The village in which I was born is very small.

Both sentences use defining relative clauses so there should be no commas.

 

[Tarheel]

I realize you're not asking if anybody would really say that. However, what you should expect to hear is something like: "It happened at five o'clock."

 

[emsr2d2]

@neb090 I have changed your thread title. Always use one of the sentences you're asking us about.