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Goronsky Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Commas
Following the nonrestrictive appositive rule, do I need a comma after ‘Arlene's’ below? I have only one sister, and the rules state that commas must come fore and aft in the following:
My sister, Arlene, is getting married.
The commas tell the reader that I have only one sister whose name is ‘Arlene’.
That said, is the punctuation correct in the following exemplar?
I am going to my sister, Arlene's, house.
Or should it be:
I am going to my sister's, Arlene's, house. (Because if you remove 'Arlene's', the sentence would read 'I am going to my sister's house', not 'I am going to my sister house.'
If not, how would I punctuate that exact sentence?
My sister, Arlene, is getting married.
The commas tell the reader that I have only one sister whose name is ‘Arlene’.
That said, is the punctuation correct in the following exemplar?
I am going to my sister, Arlene's, house.
Or should it be:
I am going to my sister's, Arlene's, house. (Because if you remove 'Arlene's', the sentence would read 'I am going to my sister's house', not 'I am going to my sister house.'
If not, how would I punctuate that exact sentence?
Top answer
I am going to my sister Arlene's house. Use sister as a noun modifier. It is quite common in this kind of sentence.
- I am going to my sister Arlene's house.
- Use sister as a noun modifier.
- It is quite common in this kind of sentence.
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5 Answers
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I am going to my sister Arlene's house.
Use sister as a noun modifier. It is quite common in this kind of sentence.
Use sister as a noun modifier. It is quite common in this kind of sentence.
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But you may have a sister whose name isn’t Arlene? (You forgot a comma before whose.)
goronsky:
the rules state that commas must come fore and aft in the following:
My sister, Arlene, is getting married.
The commas tell the reader that I have only one sister whose name is ‘Arlene’.
Non-parenthetical a
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goronskyI have only one sister, and the rules state that commas ...I don't know what rule you're referring to, but you don't need commas in your example.
My sister Arlene is getting married.
goronskyThe commas tell the reader that I have only one sister whose name is ‘Arlene’.I'm not surprised. But common
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My sister, Arlene, is getting married.
(Even if I have only one sister [whose name is Arlene], it makes sense to omit the comma because the sentence, as written with the comma, could mean that I'm telling Arlene that my sister is getting married [direct address/vocative case]. And I don't really think the reader cares how many siblings I have. Do you agree with my logic?)
(Even if I have only one sister [whose name is Arlene], it makes sense to omit the comma because the sentence, as written with the comma, could mean that I'm telling Arlene that my sister is getting married [direct address/vocative case]. And I don't really think the reader cares how many siblings I have. Do you agree with my logic?)
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goronskycould mean that I'm telling Arlene that my sister is getting marriedThat would not be used, except in the context of a dialog where it is clearly established that you are talking to a woman named Arlene.
By itself, you would write:
Arlene, my sister (Mary) is getting married.
If Arlene is your sister, and she is getting ma
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