For a definite noun phrase, that means it has a unique referent. Using a Commas for Direct Address When addressing a person or thing directly, the name used must be offset with a comma (or two commas if it's mid-sentence). I need my sunglasses. Martin the captain is logical only if theres more than one Martin: Martin the captain wore his dress uniform, while Martin the lieutenant was still in his combat fatigues. But its more likely that in such a case, youd use each Martins job title before his name. ask for clarification, suggest changes, or offer short-lived information, grammar-monster.com/glossary/appositive_apposition.htm, grammar-monster.com/glossary/restrictive_clause.htm, tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Feb-17.html. . would be better. My colleague has put a one comma before the name John, explaining that an above average student and talented musician is a nonessential appositive and should be separated by comma. How can citizens assist at an aircraft crash site? Example: My friend Harvey is an animal lover. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause. My little sister Ella will escort you to your seat. Create a compound sentence using the two simple sentences below. Because he had just got a new job, John had very little free time. Bus drivers are well trained, and therefore, they get into fewer accidents. Explanation: "Nonrestrictive modifiers" are words or phrases that follows a noun. of Commas says, Use commas to set off expressions that interrupt the sentence flow (nevertheless, after all, by the way, on the other hand, however, etc.). Food trucks, which trucks equipped to cook and serve food, are becoming a popular dining option for food enthusiasts. CORRECT. My Friend John: Directed by Henry Arroyo. Oh, interesting and helpful. Thank you for pointing out these punctuation errors. The lion tiger and zebra are my favorite animals at the zoo. (3) Our Senator Jorge Torres first bill was for tax reductions. Insert comma before the conjunction (,and) Insert comma after the conjunction (and,) No comma needed. P.S. Celebrate friendship with this lyrical picture book that beautifully illustrates John Lennon and Paul McCartney's world-renowned words from "With a Little Help from My Friends." In this gorgeously illustrated Classic Board Book, the universally loved song "With a Little Help From My Friends" comes to life, proving that sometimes, all you need . 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. Explanation: My friend is not a precise identifier because one may have numerous friends. Both of those look wrong to me. The entire phrase following Jack is an appositive. Everest, the worlds highest peak, is 29,028. How would I correct this sentence, if it needs to be using commas? could you please tell me whether the following sentence is correct? Is it proper to set off an appositive describing a question with commas, too? Among the choices above, the choice "My friend John, who owns the chocolate Lab puppy, is . We suggest changing supports this to proves that.. Regarding comma usage, the sentence is correct. Here are three possibilities (you can probably construct more): 1. How we determine type of filter with pole(s), zero(s)? Are the following punctuated correctly? Dear John, Unlike Hi, June, that is fine. No commas are needed if you have two (or more) older brothers. There are many ways you might frame your sentenceWhen one reads , When people read , When I read but your sentence is grammatically correct. The first sentence is fine. We recommend using a comma after humorousness., Leave a Comment or Question: Cancel reply, Please ensure that your question or comment relates to the topic of the blog post. Yes. If the name comes first, it is followed by a comma: Children, please stop jumping on the beds. Is the grammar here right? You could add your brothers name. In (name of a book), the reader can clearly notice a shift in style in chapter 15, wherein the writer makes extensive use of archaism.. I think it should be either a or b, but Im not sure. Grammatically, this sentence needs revision. Jane Jones, Esq., has joined the board of directors. E.g., Anna May Wong, or Anna Can Wong, mean 2 different things depending on whether the statement refers to Annas Wonging ability, or having permission. Neither statement would be correct as punctuated. How would you punctuate the following book dedication? Why is water leaking from this hole under the sink? When you address someone-hey, you-you're supposed to use a comma. That sentence works fine on its own. As the post states, When the noun preceding the appositive provides sufficient identification on its own, use commas around the appositive. Therefore, your commas are correct. I have a question about comma use when a persons title acts as an appositive. I need a 'standard array' for a D&D-like homebrew game, but anydice chokes - how to proceed. As you note, it makes it confusing: the sentence is more clear without them. His youngest sister, who played the piano, is only in first grade. The comma after the word and is unnecessary. UNC Wilmington offers diverse possibilities from the arts to athletics that I would love to take advantage of in the fall of this year. Without context, it is impossible to know which may have been intended. If I read the rule above correctly however, then there should be commas. Finally she did, and my friend, John, and I went shopping. Congratulations, Michael! Hello, Rene. Let me consider my two examples again. This enhancement allows Department Managers to automatically approve new item requisition requests within Department requisitions: this includes the use of separate menu requests and, when approved, the addition of auto numbering new item request when added to the Item Master. I think his solution to hire a replacement was the best course of action at the time. Im so confused because of it. He names the toy astronaut, John, and from that moment on, the two become best friends. We also acknowledge that most newspapers and magazines drop this comma in a simple series. It takes a comma before the conjunction (and, but, or, etc. Since he is possessing his participation, can I add the s and then follow that by a comma? For example: Johns, 18, labrador is white. The sentence contains two subjects, Hato Island and residents. The whole reason that we haven't either all settled on using Oxford commas or all settled on not using them is that neither system actually works. Or does the and alone separate the items adequately? A good friend of mine, Harry, went to the party. It only takes a minute to sign up. 8.Yes, you may borrow my sweater. I need to put a comma after the subordinate clause. So begins the heartwarming story of two young boys who together experience fun times, sad times, happy times, hard times, secret times, and all the in-between times only two best friends can share. Feedback would be appreciated. 'Mary' is inessential--assuming I have only one mother (not always the case I know), then "my mother" is enough to identify who I am speaking about. Incorrect: He yelled to the driver, "This isn't my Uber"! This tag . Site Maintenance- Friday, January 20, 2023 02:00 UTC (Thursday Jan 19 9PM Comma splice with short imperative clauses. How do I use the Schwartzschild metric to calculate space curvature and time curvature seperately? The one you saw is my close friend, John. Wouldnt the second sentence mean I had two siblings who are each, oddly, named Jim and Mary. The comma makes it non-restrictive. Select the answer choice that corrects the punctuation errors: Although he works hard, math is difficult for Jared. The syntactical situation Im talking about is identifier-name. Is it feasible to travel to Stuttgart via Zurich? In the following sentence, are the commas around by Nora Roberts correct? In the second sentence, the commas indicate that the noun preceding the appositive (sister) provides sufficient identification on its own. Therefore you are correct to use a comma: We read the book Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sign up to receive the FREE weekly GrammarBook.com E-Newsletter. The definition of an appositive is a word or word group that defines or further identifies the noun or noun phrase preceding it. These compound sentence examples come from everyday sayings and proverbs in the English language. So in my example My older brother Dean cant do it we need to put comma after my older brother? @GentlePurpleRain Yes, here it would be more ambiguous and complicated, and depends on whether the speaker expects their audience to know who their oldest friend is. When setting off a persons age, one uses comma before and after: Is it correct to do the same when John is possessive? I went to the game to laugh have fun and talk with my friend. Its my friend Johns car. (, number 13579,). We file a pleading on behalf of just one defendant. Deed from John and wife, Jane, to Bob. The phrase my friend John contains two appositives, because my friend and John are two ways of identifying that person I know well. This is really a case of restrictive/non-restrictive phrases. The title of the cookbook is an essential appositive. 1) COMMA (,) The comma is used to indicate a short pause. "My friend Tom" is restrictive, so don't use a comma; "My boss, Mr. Andrews" is non-restrictive, so use a comma. Remove the comma after their names? Here are some clues to help you decide whether the sentence element is essential: The commas are correct, or enclose the bank account in parentheses instead: (number 13579). 2) Pauls sister, Louise, is getting married. Rather than either sentence, we recommend Please give me that pen, Sue. Using the information you learned in this article along with our Rules 5 and 6 of Commas, try answering these on your own. He noted that I had not mentioned Cyprian in my essay on this text and that some KJV only folks claimed that Cyprian actually quoted the form that appears in the KJV ("For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and . If the formal name of the company is Bob Jones, Architect, it should be capitalized. In a sentence which has three nouns as its subjectwhich could be regarded as having one noun as the subject along with two other nouns in apposition to the first nounis there a comma after the third noun? I realize that the sentence is perhaps awkwardly constructed, but I still feel that there are clues to the meaning within the word choices. I have been struggling with this sentence. True, but the writers comment "we need to" makes it appear that they are not just trying to parse an existing sentence, but to create a new one. I simplified the sentence. I have a feeling it is not fluent enough. SoundCloud My Friend John. (Basically Dog-people), Looking to protect enchantment in Mono Black, is this blue one called 'threshold? a. http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/commas/commas-with-appositives/. In that case there are three people involved, of whom only two went shopping. The possessive appositive, Sharons, is set off by commas. The first sentence without the commas implies that the appositive (Louise) is essential to the meaning of the noun it belongs to (sister). (me: In the above example, the that-clause [noun clause, not relative clause] modifies [or complements] an adjective, not a noun, so Im not sure what is going on here. His name is Michael. Your justification for preferring the Oxford comma is weak. My friend John, who owns a chocolate Lab puppy, is getting ready to leave for a trip. The comma used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items is called a serial comma. Its a script of a show were working on. Luke, Hunter, and Ronnie are the hardest working students. A comma is used around the appositive. Do you know all your brothers and sisters names?. The comma is there to separate the quote from the tagthe phrase that tells us who's being quoted. What is the origin and basis of stare decisis? How many people are in the sentence "My friend, John, and I went shopping"? So we have:An above average student and talented musician, John made his family proud and My older brother, Dean made me cry yesterday. When we mean that an individual has more than one sisters, we place the comma this way: Her sister Emily could sing very well. Perhaps this should be a comment rather than an answer. We hope this helps. : Underline? In the article, Saving Penguins, thousand of teen-agers rushed to help 40,000 penguins. The opposite problem is on display here. His father, Mr. Hatchet, was also a very tall man. Joshua and Caleb had brought back the minority report after spying out the land, and as a result, they were spared the judgment against the unbelieving Israelites. But I didnt agree with it and my logic, that John is essential appositive and thats why we shouldnt put comma before it. @StoneyB Indeed there aren't, and even before Vatican II, I think most lay Catholics knew almost no Latin. Are the commas necessary in this type of sentence? Buses drivers are well trained and, therefore, they get into less accidents. Explanation: Julie Minsky is necessary to help identify CEO, so no commas are used. Also, our Rule 4 of Quotation Marks says, Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks.. In the second quiz question, my little sister would be sufficient if you only had one little sister. See our post Capitalization of Job Titles for more information. I do not know. In these cases, the dependent noun clause acting in apposition to the subject or object noun would be set off by commas: The problem [subject], that you did not pick up the packages [appositive renaming the subject], delays the entire production schedule. You proposed: We have a relationship with Mr. Smith through our partnership in Florida, as well as through his nephew, who is a member of our church. But I think the original sentence is ambiguous. We can either elect my running mate, a bold truth-teller, or the most dishonest candidate in history.. The politician Senator Reids bill was passed by the House. What is the correct way to write this sentence? [Source: Huddleston and Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002), p. 482]. Avoiding alpha gaming when not alpha gaming gets PCs into trouble. So begins the heartwarming story of two young boys who together experience fun times, sad times, happy times, hard times, secret times, and all the in-between . The professor of clinical psychology at Amsterdam University Pim Cuijper states that there is no evidence that supports this online treatment is less effective than conventional therapy. My little sister Ella will escort you to your seat. Thank you for clarifying. The plural verb were should be used. Does it make a difference if there are multiple defendants? We read the book Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. ), while THE most dishonest candidate in history is clearly referring to one person (at least in Pences mind), and because even if there were other most dishonest candidate(s) in history, only one of them is running against Trump at this time. A modifier is termed as the information or a piece of additional information about a noun, pronoun, or adjective that is given about the sentences. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company. In the short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe explores the physical manifestation of guilt. Martin the Captain: does it mean there are more than one captain?. If there are other winners of this award, you cannot describe Theeb as the winner. This might work: Theeb, a past winner of our Screenwriting Award, is now playing in theaters. How could one outsmart a tracking implant? I need to prove one of my teachers wrong. I'm wondering if the following sentences are both OK. Example: The girl who received a scholarship is my sister. Is the second comma essential for an appositive when an and follows it to separate distinct items/thoughts? Rules exist to serve the clear expression of ideas, and not the other way round. In accordance with Rule 10 of Commas, place a comma after this dependent phrase. When the subject is separated from the verb by words such as along with, as well as, besides, or not, ignore these expressions when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb. If Squiggly owns a car, you say, "This is Squiggly's car.". There was a young man, Michael, walking through the forest. Was that part of the advice intended to apply to the earlier notation that the phrase without commas is correct when there are multiple sisters? If you have only one sister: I was looking for a new challenge, and the timing was opportune, as the real estate business of my sister, Kate Smith, was expanding., If you have two or more sisters: I was looking for a new challenge, and the timing was opportune, as the real estate business of my sister Kate Smith was expanding.. The quotation marks were necessary to indicate the exact words of the question Where do you see yourself in five years?. What precedes it is a sufficiently restricted descriptor. Why did you add the quotes around the question? We therefore need to separate them in the right place (after paused). Shadam will be married in her mother, Sarahs gold wedding band. You do not need to wrap the friend's name in commas unless that friend is your only friend. Commas are added wherever you wish to denote a shorter break. Certainly, the book is extraneous in this example. For a definite noun phrase, that means it has a unique referent. If I dont get this assignment back tonight, I will not be able to play in my lacrosse game tomorrow, and, understandably, I have been looking forward to it. An appositive is a word or phrase that refers to the same idea as another word or phrase in proximity. . Get A Copy Amazon Stores Libraries Paperback, 32 pages I was five when I went to my first sporting event, a baseball game. Last week, I decided to visit my best friend, John. Sticking with the question at hand, the comma after the word and is correct.