62. Commas and names

INCORRECT: "I went to see the movie, Titanic, with my friend, Jessie."

The commas in this sentence are incorrectly placed unless Titanic is the only movie in the world and Jessie is your one and only friend.

CORRECT: "I went to see the movie Titanic with my friend Jessie."

Or, if Jessie is indeed your one and only friend, then:

"I went to see the movie Titanic with my friend, Jessie."

or even better:

"I went to see the movie Titanic with my best friend, Jessie."

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Other examples:

A school teacher, Jane Smith, bought the winning lottery ticket.

This sentence makes "Jane Smith" additional information.

Jane Smith, a teacher, bought the winning lottery ticket.

This sentence makes "a teacher" additional information.

My son, John, is awesome. (If you have just one son.)

My son John is awesome. (If you have more than one son.)

The artist David Hockney is a master of color.

The celebrated British artist David Hockney is a master of color.


Keywords: Appositive, restrictive, non-restrictive,