Punctuation: Appositives

Question 5.1 has arrived:

Sorry I didn't make myself clear in my last email.  By paraphrasing myself, I mean explaining concepts in the same sentence using different words.  (Is this a form of paraphrasing?)  For example:

The nuclear family, a family unit consisting of two parents and their children living under one roof, is the most common form of family arrangement in many western countries.

Among some nationalities, one virtue that is highly regarded is filial piety?obedience to and respect for parents.

Are the sentences grammatical.  I believe that this kind of paragraphing is also called appositives in grammar.  Am I correct?


- Ooops!  A small miss-communication problem there, let's take a look at punctuating appositives:


Let's start by defining an appositive:

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that helps to identify or clarify another noun.  For example:

Michael Schumacher, the F1 racing driver, won the F1 championship more than once.

In this sentence 'the F1 racing driver' is the appositive.


There are two ways to punctuate an appositive, and it depends on the appositive's relationship to & position in the sentence:

1.  The Non-Essential Appositive:

Michael Schumacher, the F1 racing driver, won the F1 championship more than once.

In this sentence the appositive 'the F1 racing driver' is a non-essential element.  This means that you can remove it from the sentence, and the logic of the sentence still makes sense:

Michael Schumacher won the F1 championship more than once.

When the appositive is non-essential, you place it between two commas:

Michael Schumacher, the F1 racing driver, won the F1 championship seven times.

The two commas tell the reader, that the appositive is NOT required to understand the sentence.  It gives the appositive a lower priority in the sentence.  It tells the reader that this information is optional, additional.


2.  The Essential Appositive:

The F1 racing driver Michael Schumacher won the F1 championship more than once.

In this sentence the appositive 'Michael Schumacher' is an essential element.  This means you NEED it in the sentence for the logic of the sentence to make sense.  Let's try removing the appositive from the sentence to see what happens:

The F1 racing driver won the F1 championship more than once.

The sentence is no longer as clear: which F1 driver?  There are several F1 drivers who have won the championship more than once.  We NEED the appositive 'Michael Schumacher' to understand the logic of the sentence clearly.

When the appositive is an essential element, we do NOT punctuate the appositive at all.  There is NO punctuation.

I hope that helps!