Commas with Appositives
The definition of an appositive is a word or word group that defines or further identifies the noun or noun phrase preceding it.
Rule: When an appositive is essential to the meaning of the noun it belongs to, don’t use commas. When the noun preceding the appositive provides sufficient identification on its own, use commas around the appositive.
Example: Jorge Torres, our senator, was born in California.
Explanation: Our senator is an appositive of the proper noun Jorge Torres. Our senator is surrounded by commas because Jorge Torres is a precise identifier.
Example: Our senator, Jorge Torres, was born in California.
Explanation: Our senator is still a relatively precise identifier so Jorge Torres is not considered essential.
Example: CEO Julie Minsky will be our featured speaker.
Explanation: Julie Minsky is necessary to help identify CEO, so no commas are used.
Example: Julie Minsky, CEO, will be our featured speaker.
Explanation: Julie Minsky is a precise identifier so the appositive is surrounded by commas.
Example: The girl who received a scholarship is my sister.
Explanation: The girl is not a precise identifier.
Example: My sister, who received a scholarship, will attend Harvard.
Explanation: My sister is a relatively precise identifier.
Example: My friend Harvey is an animal lover.
Explanation: My friend is not a precise identifier because one may have numerous friends.
Example: Harvey, my friend, loves animals.
Explanation: Harvey is a precise identifier.
Pop Quiz
1. Ella my little sister will escort you to your seat.
2. My little sister Ella will escort you to your seat.
Answers:
1. Ella, my little sister, will escort you to your seat.
2. NO COMMAS
Posted on Sunday, September 2nd, 2007, at 7:11 pm
10 Responses to “Commas with Appositives”
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Question about comma placement in the following sentence:
“He paused and in the stillness of the moment his countenance glowed brightly.”
What do you think of:
“He paused and, in the stillness of the moment, his countenance glowed brightly”?
Thank you very much!
I would include the commas since the phrase in the stillness of the moment interrupts the sentence flow and is non-essential, but adds more information to the meaning of the sentence.
You acutally need the comma after “and,” becuase it is a coordinating conjunction and connecting two independant clauses. Then since “in the stillness of the moment” is two introductory prepositional phrases there would be a comma after “moment,” as well.
The comma may be omitted if the independent clauses are short. Therefore, we may write either: He paused and his countenance glowed brightly. OR He paused, and his countenance glowed brightly. Since the nonessential prepositional phrase in the stillness of the moment needs to be set off by commas, it is cleaner to write and easier to read He paused and, in the stillness of the moment, his countenance glowed brightly than writing He paused, and, in the stillness of the moment, his countenance glowed brightly.
This is very helpful. Thank you. If I were to write “Brett lives in Denver with his wife Leena and three sons.” should I use commas around ‘Leena’? I had always thought that, since Leena is Brett’s only wife, there would be no comma. If I read the rule above correctly however, then there should be commas. Thank you for clarifying.
Unless Brett is a polygamist, the term his wife is a precise identifier. Since Leena is not essential to the meaning of his wife, use commas around the appositive.
Brett lives in Denver with his wife, Leena, and three sons.
Hello,
First of all, I would like to thank you for this wonderful explanation. I have a question:
“Brett lives in Denver with his wife, Leena, and three sons.”
If so then this means Brett lives with: his wife, Leena, and three sons (a total household of 6 people).
Am I correct?
Kaja did point out that Leena is Brett’s wife. Shouldn’t it be no comma after wife?
Grammar’s complicated!
Cheers =D
That’s a good observation, Pama. Your comment demonstrates how it’s possible to follow all the rules perfectly yet the exact meaning of the sentence is still unclear. Rule 11 in the “Commas” section of Grammarbook.com states, “If something or someone is sufficiently identified, the description following it is considered nonessential and should be surrounded by commas.” Since Brett only has one wife, the word “Leena” is nonessential to the meaning of the word “wife.” Further, as Rule 1 states, “To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.” In theory, this sentence could be interpreted exactly as you did, with the series of three being his wife, Leena, and three sons. Therefore, depending on whether Brett’s wife is named Leena or whether Leena is some other member of the household, this sentence needs restructuring in order to be clear. Here are three possibilities (you can probably construct more):
1. Brett lives in Denver with his three sons and his wife, Leena.
2. Brett lives in Denver with his wife, three sons, and his cousin Leena.
3. Brett lives in Denver with his wife, Delores; three sons; and his cousin Leena. (Rule 4 of Semicolons: Use the semicolon to separate units of a series when one or more of the units contain commas.)
Do I need commas in the following,
Shadam will be married in her mother Sarah’s gold wedding band.
The scarf, given to Shadam by her father, Richard, will also be used.
Let’s take your two sentences separately. The rule states, “When an appositive is essential to the meaning of the noun it belongs to, don’t use commas. When the noun preceding the appositive provides sufficient identification on its own, use commas around the appositive.” If Shadam only refers to one person as mother (i.e., no step mother, adoptive mother, etc.), the word Sarah is not essential to her mother, therefore use commas around the appositive. However, complicating this sentence is the possessive noun followed by an appositive, such that some may ask should the sentence be written as, “Shadam will be married in her mother’s, Sarah’s, gold wedding band”? The best guidance I can find on this is to add ‘s only to the appositive, as you have done, and also drop the comma that would normally follow the appositive phrase.
Shadam will be married in her mother, Sarah’s gold wedding band. (Although I doubt you would get much argument if you wrote, Shadam will be married in her mother, Sarah’s, gold wedding band.)
Or, you could remove any doubts by rewriting the sentence as, Shadam will be married in the gold wedding band of her mother, Sarah.
In the second sentence, the phrase given to Shadam by her father is essential to the word scarf since it identifies that particular scarf. Therefore no comma is required there; however, if Shadam only has one father, the word Richard is not essential to her father. A comma is used around the appositive.
The scarf given to Shadam by her father, Richard, will also be used.