Using commas around names that specify relationship
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{
margin-bottom:0;
}
I've been getting conflicting information on this problem. If I write:
"My brother Sam loves to eat cake." OR
"My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake."
OR to be REALLY clear
"One of my brothers, Sam, loves to eat cake."
Do I leave out the comma around his name in the first one to indicate that I have other brothers other than Sam? If so, I don't understand this because he is my ONLY brother that is "Sam" whether or not I have other brothers, and why should me having other brothers be of interest to anyone anyway?
Does the second one indicate he is my only brother by being written with the commas?
Or should I just use the last one, which would sound odd if I was writing this to someone who is aware of Sam and that I have other brothers already.
commas appositives
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
add a comment
|
I've been getting conflicting information on this problem. If I write:
"My brother Sam loves to eat cake." OR
"My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake."
OR to be REALLY clear
"One of my brothers, Sam, loves to eat cake."
Do I leave out the comma around his name in the first one to indicate that I have other brothers other than Sam? If so, I don't understand this because he is my ONLY brother that is "Sam" whether or not I have other brothers, and why should me having other brothers be of interest to anyone anyway?
Does the second one indicate he is my only brother by being written with the commas?
Or should I just use the last one, which would sound odd if I was writing this to someone who is aware of Sam and that I have other brothers already.
commas appositives
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44
add a comment
|
I've been getting conflicting information on this problem. If I write:
"My brother Sam loves to eat cake." OR
"My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake."
OR to be REALLY clear
"One of my brothers, Sam, loves to eat cake."
Do I leave out the comma around his name in the first one to indicate that I have other brothers other than Sam? If so, I don't understand this because he is my ONLY brother that is "Sam" whether or not I have other brothers, and why should me having other brothers be of interest to anyone anyway?
Does the second one indicate he is my only brother by being written with the commas?
Or should I just use the last one, which would sound odd if I was writing this to someone who is aware of Sam and that I have other brothers already.
commas appositives
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
I've been getting conflicting information on this problem. If I write:
"My brother Sam loves to eat cake." OR
"My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake."
OR to be REALLY clear
"One of my brothers, Sam, loves to eat cake."
Do I leave out the comma around his name in the first one to indicate that I have other brothers other than Sam? If so, I don't understand this because he is my ONLY brother that is "Sam" whether or not I have other brothers, and why should me having other brothers be of interest to anyone anyway?
Does the second one indicate he is my only brother by being written with the commas?
Or should I just use the last one, which would sound odd if I was writing this to someone who is aware of Sam and that I have other brothers already.
commas appositives
commas appositives
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
edited May 27 at 18:24
Laurel
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
37.6k7 gold badges77 silver badges128 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
asked Nov 16 '18 at 20:59
HaazylHaazyl
22 bronze badges
22 bronze badges
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44
add a comment
|
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44
add a comment
|
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In your second example, putting 'Sam' between commas makes it an appositive. An appositive is an extra descriptor which is used to give more information about the noun next to it, but doesn't add anything to the sentence. In fact, you can remove the appositive without affecting the meaning of the sentence. So your second example has the same meaning as "My brother loves to eat cake.", while also indicating that your brother's name is Sam. To me this implies that in your current situation there is only one person whom you would refer to as your brother. Maybe you have multiple brothers, but only one is at the party with the cake.
In your first example, 'My brother' is being used like an adjective to describe Sam. This sentence does not imply anything about whether you have other brothers. It could be used if your brother and friend, both named Sam, were eating the cake, and you wanted to express which Sam loved it. Or it could be used to indicate that the Sam you are talking about is your brother.
In the last example, you again use 'Sam' as an appositive, so the sentence is equivalent to "One of my brothers loves to eat cake", while at the same time specifying which one. This sentence does imply that you have other brothers.
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
add a comment
|
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"u003ecc by-sa 4.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f473336%2fusing-commas-around-names-that-specify-relationship%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
In your second example, putting 'Sam' between commas makes it an appositive. An appositive is an extra descriptor which is used to give more information about the noun next to it, but doesn't add anything to the sentence. In fact, you can remove the appositive without affecting the meaning of the sentence. So your second example has the same meaning as "My brother loves to eat cake.", while also indicating that your brother's name is Sam. To me this implies that in your current situation there is only one person whom you would refer to as your brother. Maybe you have multiple brothers, but only one is at the party with the cake.
In your first example, 'My brother' is being used like an adjective to describe Sam. This sentence does not imply anything about whether you have other brothers. It could be used if your brother and friend, both named Sam, were eating the cake, and you wanted to express which Sam loved it. Or it could be used to indicate that the Sam you are talking about is your brother.
In the last example, you again use 'Sam' as an appositive, so the sentence is equivalent to "One of my brothers loves to eat cake", while at the same time specifying which one. This sentence does imply that you have other brothers.
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
add a comment
|
In your second example, putting 'Sam' between commas makes it an appositive. An appositive is an extra descriptor which is used to give more information about the noun next to it, but doesn't add anything to the sentence. In fact, you can remove the appositive without affecting the meaning of the sentence. So your second example has the same meaning as "My brother loves to eat cake.", while also indicating that your brother's name is Sam. To me this implies that in your current situation there is only one person whom you would refer to as your brother. Maybe you have multiple brothers, but only one is at the party with the cake.
In your first example, 'My brother' is being used like an adjective to describe Sam. This sentence does not imply anything about whether you have other brothers. It could be used if your brother and friend, both named Sam, were eating the cake, and you wanted to express which Sam loved it. Or it could be used to indicate that the Sam you are talking about is your brother.
In the last example, you again use 'Sam' as an appositive, so the sentence is equivalent to "One of my brothers loves to eat cake", while at the same time specifying which one. This sentence does imply that you have other brothers.
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
add a comment
|
In your second example, putting 'Sam' between commas makes it an appositive. An appositive is an extra descriptor which is used to give more information about the noun next to it, but doesn't add anything to the sentence. In fact, you can remove the appositive without affecting the meaning of the sentence. So your second example has the same meaning as "My brother loves to eat cake.", while also indicating that your brother's name is Sam. To me this implies that in your current situation there is only one person whom you would refer to as your brother. Maybe you have multiple brothers, but only one is at the party with the cake.
In your first example, 'My brother' is being used like an adjective to describe Sam. This sentence does not imply anything about whether you have other brothers. It could be used if your brother and friend, both named Sam, were eating the cake, and you wanted to express which Sam loved it. Or it could be used to indicate that the Sam you are talking about is your brother.
In the last example, you again use 'Sam' as an appositive, so the sentence is equivalent to "One of my brothers loves to eat cake", while at the same time specifying which one. This sentence does imply that you have other brothers.
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
In your second example, putting 'Sam' between commas makes it an appositive. An appositive is an extra descriptor which is used to give more information about the noun next to it, but doesn't add anything to the sentence. In fact, you can remove the appositive without affecting the meaning of the sentence. So your second example has the same meaning as "My brother loves to eat cake.", while also indicating that your brother's name is Sam. To me this implies that in your current situation there is only one person whom you would refer to as your brother. Maybe you have multiple brothers, but only one is at the party with the cake.
In your first example, 'My brother' is being used like an adjective to describe Sam. This sentence does not imply anything about whether you have other brothers. It could be used if your brother and friend, both named Sam, were eating the cake, and you wanted to express which Sam loved it. Or it could be used to indicate that the Sam you are talking about is your brother.
In the last example, you again use 'Sam' as an appositive, so the sentence is equivalent to "One of my brothers loves to eat cake", while at the same time specifying which one. This sentence does imply that you have other brothers.
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
answered Nov 16 '18 at 22:04
StonehengeStonehenge
111 bronze badge
111 bronze badge
add a comment
|
add a comment
|
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f473336%2fusing-commas-around-names-that-specify-relationship%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Welcome to EL&U. You know how many brothers you have, but your readers (most of them, anyway) do not. If you write my brother Sam, they will assume that you have other brothers besides Sam, and if you write my brother, Sam, they will assume that you have one brother whose name is Sam, simply because that is the way appositives are presented in written English. No one is going to throw you in jail over punctuating however you please, but your communication will be less effective when you deviate from conventions your audience follows.
– choster
Nov 16 '18 at 21:31
You have to take context into consideration too. Just because you use a comma doesn't mean anything specific about your brothers. My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake. You might think that means you only have one brother. But it could be followed up by My other brother, George, hates cake. Your use of commas is perfectly fine—and, in context, means nothing at all about the number of brothers you have. Similarly, although prescriptive grammarians might object to neglecting commas, leaving them out doesn't necessarily mean you have more than one brother. This particular subject is debatable.
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:39
(You would not normally say my other brother George, without commas, unless you actually had two brothers who were both named George. So even though you have at least two brothers, a comma normally would be used in this construction.)
– Jason Bassford
Nov 16 '18 at 21:44