grammar - Correct punctuation with two nouns?



There's an old play on words that goes like so:



Grammar: The difference between helping your uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse.



I've been told that it should instead be:



Grammar: The difference between helping your uncle, Jack, off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse.



Is either of these correct? Why?



Answer



Uncle and Jack are two nouns in apposition.



In a non-restrictive appositive, the second element parenthetically modifies the first without changing its scope and it is not crucial to the meaning of the sentence. In a restrictive appositive, the second element limits or clarifies the foregoing one in some crucial way. For example in the phrase "my friend Alice", "Alice" specifies to which friend the speaker is referring and is therefore restrictive.



Restrictive appositives like “my friend Alice” and “my uncle Jack” are not set off with commas.


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