Practice
Appositives: rename a noun clearly
You may need to explain who a person is without starting another sentence. In My supervisor, Elena Ruiz, will lead the meeting, Elena Ruiz renames my supervisor. That renaming phrase is an appositive.
Use appositives to rename a noun and choose commas according to whether the added information identifies the noun or gives extra detail.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday. /mɪz pəˈtɛl aʊər nuː ˈfaɪnæns ˈmænɪdʒər bɪˈɡɪnz ˈmʌndeɪ/
The short answer
Put an appositive next to the noun it renames. Use commas when the reader already knows which person or thing you mean. Leave out commas when the appositive is needed to identify that person or thing.
Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday.
Why it works: Our new finance manager adds extra information about Ms. Patel, so commas set the appositive apart.
4 more examples
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The novelist Toni Morrison won the award in 1988.
The name identifies which novelist the sentence means, so there are no commas.
Not this:Toni Morrison,
the novelist, won the award in 1988. What changes: Here the name is already sufficient, and the role becomes extra information set off by commas. -
Our main concern, the delayed shipment, affected every department.
The appositive names the concern after the reader has been introduced to it.
Not this:
The delayed shipmentaffected every department. What changes: The plain sentence gives the same event but does not show that the shipment was the group's main concern. -
My brother, a patient teacher, explains math with simple drawings.
The phrase describes my brother and is enclosed by commas because it adds a comment about him.
Not this:
A patient teacherexplains math with simple drawings. What changes: The noun phrase identifies an unspecified teacher instead of describing a known person. -
The committee chose Maya Chen, a local architect, to lead the project.
The appositive adds Maya Chen's profession after her name has identified her.
Not this:The committee chose
a local architectto lead the project. What changes: Without the name, the profession identifies the person the committee chose.
Read the full guide
First, find the noun that the added words describe. Then ask whether the reader could identify that noun without the added words. If the answer is yes, the words are extra information and usually need commas. If the answer is no, the words help identify the noun and usually do not need commas.
Find the noun that receives another name
An appositive and the noun beside it refer to the same person, thing, or idea. Read the two phrases as a pair. In Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday, both Ms. Patel and our new finance manager name one person.
Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday.
Our new finance manager does not describe an action by Ms. Patel. It renames her. This is different from an adjective such as new, which only describes the manager.
Which words rename Ms. Patel in the example?
Our new finance manager renames Ms. Patel. Both phrases point to the same person.
Use commas for extra information
Use commas when the appositive gives an extra detail about a noun the reader can already identify. The name Maya Chen is enough to identify the person in the next example. A local architect adds useful information, but the sentence can still name Maya Chen without it.
The committee chose Maya Chen, a local architect, to lead the project.
The commas show that a local architect is a comment about Maya Chen. Read the sentence without that phrase: The committee chose Maya Chen to lead the project.
Should a local architect have commas if it is extra information about Maya Chen?
Yes. Write Maya Chen, a local architect, when the profession adds information after the name.
Leave out commas when the phrase identifies the noun
Sometimes the appositive tells the reader which person or thing you mean. In the novelist Toni Morrison, the name identifies one novelist from many possible novelists. Since the phrase is needed for identification, it normally has no commas.
The novelist Toni Morrison won the award in 1988.
The novelist alone could refer to many writers. Toni Morrison narrows the meaning. By contrast, Toni Morrison, the novelist, treats the job description as extra information about a person already identified by name.
Does the name need commas after the novelist when it identifies which novelist you mean?
No. Write the novelist Toni Morrison without commas when the name is needed to identify the writer.
Put the whole appositive between its commas
A nonessential appositive in the middle of a sentence usually needs a comma on both sides. The first comma opens the extra information, and the second comma closes it. Do not separate only one word from the rest of the appositive.
My brother, a patient teacher, explains math with simple drawings.
The complete appositive is a patient teacher. The correct commas surround the full phrase. My brother, a patient, teacher explains math breaks the phrase apart and is hard to read.
Where does the second comma go in My brother, a patient teacher, explains math?
Put it after teacher. The comma closes the complete appositive a patient teacher.
Check meaning before choosing punctuation
Punctuation depends on what the listener already knows. If you have one colleague and the listener knows that person, my colleague, Sam, can add the name as extra information. If you work with several colleagues and need to identify one, my colleague Sam may be clearer.
Our main concern, the delayed shipment, affected every department.
The delayed shipment names a concern already introduced by our main concern. Before adding commas, ask whether the first noun is clear enough without the second noun phrase.
What should you ask before adding commas around an appositive?
Ask whether the reader can identify the noun without the added phrase. If the phrase is extra information, use commas. If it identifies the noun, usually leave them out.
Before you go
Remember this
An appositive is a noun phrase that renames another noun. Use commas for an appositive that adds extra information about a known noun. Leave out commas when the phrase identifies which person or thing you mean. Keep the two noun phrases together so the relationship is easy to read.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Appositives: rename a noun clearly"
What is an appositive?
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase placed next to another noun to give it another name. In Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday, the phrase our new finance manager renames Ms. Patel. The two phrases refer to the same person.
Ms. Patel, our new finance manager, begins Monday.
When do appositives need commas?
Use commas when an appositive gives extra information about a person or thing the reader can already identify. In The committee chose Maya Chen, a local architect, to lead the project, Maya Chen identifies the person and the profession adds a detail.
Our new finance manager begins Monday.
Why do some appositives have no commas?
Leave out commas when the appositive is needed to identify which person or thing you mean. In the novelist Toni Morrison, the name identifies one novelist among many possible novelists. The phrase works as one identifying unit.
The novelist Toni Morrison won the award in 1988.
Can an appositive describe an idea as well as a person?
Yes. An appositive can rename an idea, a place, or a thing as well as a person. In Our main concern, the delayed shipment, affected every department, the delayed shipment gives the concern a more specific name.
Toni Morrison, the novelist, won the award in 1988.
How can I check my appositive punctuation?
Read the sentence without the added noun phrase. If the main noun still clearly identifies the person or thing, the appositive is probably extra information and needs commas. If removing it leaves the reference unclear, the phrase may need no commas.
Our main concern, the delayed shipment, affected every department.