Commas With Appositives

An appositive

1.    is a word or group of words that follows right after a noun or pronoun.

2.    makes a noun or pronoun clearer or more definite by explaining or identifying it.

·         Randy won the first prize, an expense-paid trip to Shanghai for four days.

·         Rome, the capital of Italy, is my favourite city.

·         One of the nicest individuals in this company is Jack Hill, manager of the finance department.

*appositives are highlighted.

Note:

Sometimes, a proper name that identifies or further explains will follow right after a noun or pronoun. Though this is also a kind of appositive, it is not set off by commas.

·        My sister Sally lives 10 minutes away.

·        The noted author Ben Kingsley writes about murder and mystery.

·        The president of the company Sam Goodman will visit this site next Monday.