Comments on: Commas with Appositives

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:26:31 +0000

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.)

By: Pama

Pama — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:24:33 +0000

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

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:21:04 +0000

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.

By: Kaja

Kaja — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:14:29 +0000

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.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:04:01 +0000

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.

By: Ed Hirsch

Ed Hirsch — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:45:54 +0000

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!