grammar - Comma usage (ex. His sister, Anne, was not feeling well.)



I would just like to clarify if in this kind of sentence, where you state the name of a person, are commas always needed to offset Anne?



His sister, Anne, was not feeling well.



Or is it acceptable to remove the commas? If yes, when?


Thank you!



Answer



The traditional explanation for when to use commas around Anne is as follows:


If the unidentified he in the sentence has only one sister (Anne), then the word Anne is functioning as an appositive, and you would set it off with commas:



His sister, Anne, was not feeling well.



But if the he in the sentence has two or more sisters, the word Anne is identifying which one was not feeling well and so would not be set in commas:



His sister Anne was not feeling well.



Here is a discussion of how to punctuate appositives, from Words Into Type, third edition (1974):



Appositives. Set off words in appositives by commas



[Relevant example:] He was replaced by a German leader, Odoacer, and thus a ruler from the barbaric tribes was recognized in Rome.



...


Restrictive appositives. A restrictive appositive is one used to distinguish its principal from other persons or things of the same name, group, or class. Such an appositive, which could not be omitted without robbing the sentence of meaning, should not be set off.



[Relevant examples:] the poet Longfellow; his brother Will; my friend Pat




So in your example, if Anne is his only sister, Anne is a regular appositive (and requires commas), but if Anne is one of his two or more sisters, Anne is a restrictive appositive (and should be left unpunctuated).


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