The single most important detail to remember when understanding appositives and appositive phrases is that they are EXTRA information. Appositives and/or appositive phrases usually DO NOT need to be used in the sentence but give a bit more detail to a noun or noun phrase. Knowing this is key.

• An appositive or appositive phrase is a noun or noun phrase that gives extra detail or information about the noun or pronoun it follows.
• An appositive or appositive phrase can come in the beginning of a sentence, in the middle of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence.
• We use commas with appositives that have nonessential information, meaning WE DO NOT NEED THE INFORMATION to be included in the sentence. Most appositives are nonessential.
• We do not use commas with appositives with essential information, meaning WE NEED THE INFORMATION included in the sentence.

Appositives and appositive phrases can come in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of sentences. Here is an example of each.

At the beginning:

• A soccer player, Bobby likes to practice his footwork each day.
  

In the middle:

• Joey Lansing, a student from my school, won a gold medal at the Olympics last year. (We do not need to know that Joey Lansing is a student from this person’s school in order to understand the sentence, so it is nonessential and needs to be surrounded by commas.)
  
• The boy band NSYNC won a Kids’ Choice Award in 1999. (Here, the name of the band is important because we are talking about a specific award a boy band won, and we need to know which band it was for the sentence to be completely understandable; therefore, this information is essential you do not need to surround it with commas.)
  

At the end:

• At the party I saw Mrs. Frederick, my favorite teacher. (Here, the fact that Mrs. Frederick is my favorite teacher is extra information, which is therefore nonessential and does not need to be there. That’s why there is a comma.)
  To my surprise, the lady who won the lottery was the famous actress Mary Jones. (Since there are many famous actresses out there, we need the name of the actress in order to complete the sentence and tell the reader who won the lottery. It is essential information and therefore does not need a comma.)

Ok, let’s break it down further.

If we look at a sentence such as this:

Julie comes home from work every day with a really full belly.

We can see that it is a complete sentence and we get the information that Julie has a really full belly when she gets home from work each day.
HOWEVER, if we want to add a little more detail--maybe about what Julie does for a living or why she comes home each day with a really full belly--we can add an appositive phrase.

Julie, a professional food taster, comes home from work every day with a really full belly.

Here, the information in red (the appositive phrase) does not need to be included in the sentence for it to make sense. It is nonessential information and simply gives us extra detail about Julie. It is, therefore, surrounded by commas.

Let’s look at another example:

My best friend loves to listen to Polka music with her grandma.

My best friend, Katie, loves to listen to Polka music with her grandma.

We don’t NEED to know that this person’s best friend’s name is Katie; it’s just more detail, so it’s nonessential. It’s like bonus information or learning a little bit of a secret. Notice how it is surrounded by commas as well.

Here’s one more:

Juda’s car makes the weirdest noises.

Juda’s car, a 1997 Toyota Corolla with a torn off muffler, makes the weirdest noises.

Again, we do not need to know what kind of car it is for the sentence to make sense, but it sure does make it more interesting! It’s bonus information, or nonessential.

NOTICE THE USE OF COMMAS WITH THE APPOSITIVES AND APPOSITIVE PHRASES ABOVE!

The reason these appositives and appositive phrases above use the commas is because it is nonessential information, or extra information and can be taken out of the sentence. Because we don’t NEED the information for the sentence to make sense, we need the commas. Think of the commas as interruption markers that make you pause and clarify the noun or pronoun the appositive is giving more detail about.
Now, if we use an appositive or an appositive phrase and we NEED IT for the sentence to make sense, then we do not need to use commas to separate it. Here are some examples:

The famous author Stephen King is a totally different person than my friend Steven King. 

In this sentence, if we did not have the name Stephen King after “famous author,” then we could put anyone’s name in there. It’s IMPORTANT to include the appositive (the author’s name) because it makes the sentence make a lot more sense than if it wasn’t there. It’s essential information, so we do not put commas around it.
Here’s another one:

Jerry the cat ate the mouse.

If we did not put the appositive phrase “the cat” there, it would be a very weird sentence. We would wonder if Jerry was a person or animal!

HOW DO I KNOW IF I NEED TO USE COMMAS?

USE YOUR FINGER!

• Place your finger over the appositive or appositive phrase. If the sentence makes complete sense with the appositive/appositive phrase covered by your finger, then USE COMMAS to set it apart.
  
• If you NEED the information UNDER YOUR FINGER, then you do not need commas to set it apart from the rest of the sentence.

PRACTICE

Directions: For each sentence, underline the appositive or appositive phrase and add commas if needed.

1. Jamie’s friend Gemma is in a lot of trouble with the principal.
2. Ella’s new car a shiny red convertible was a gift from her grandparents.
3. Rambo my dog is always excited when I get home.
4. My favorite teacher Mrs. Frank always brought us treats for the day.
5. During the finale, Jacob the best actor in the group tripped on stage.
6. The really famous baseball player Babe Ruth died on August 16, 1948.
7. My brother’s phone an iPhone 12 was stolen yesterday.
8. George’s brother Jonathan loves to eat gummy worms and ice cream for dinner.
9. Shana’s dress the pink one with the pretty lace trim was ripped at the seam.
10. Elliot the reindeer flew to the North Pole in order to help Santa Claus.
11. Damien’s friend John jumped off the cliff into the beautiful clear water below.
12. Abraham Lincoln the 16th President of the United States is often pictured wearing a top hat.
13. Luke my sister’s labrador retriever is not motivated by treats.
14. Ernest’s brother Bert is the starting quarterback for their high school football team.
15. Just like my sister whose name is Gabby Sarah loves to lay out by the pool when it’s hot and sunny.