Subject or pre-modifier?

Question

#1. In 1768, ____ Commander of the Endeavour, James Cook, met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later. A. the   B. /#2. In 1768, ____ Commander of the Endeavour, James Cook met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later.  A. the   B. /Are there any differences between the above sentences? (Please pay attention to the comma in Sentence 1)

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

#1. In 1768, __ Commander of the Endeavour, James Cook, met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later.

I would write this as

In 1768, the commander of the Endeavour, James Cook, met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later.

But I'd prefer

In 1768, James Cook, Commander of the Endeavour, met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later.

The 'problem' is that the capital 'C' makes the phrase a title, which therefore does not require an article. I'd also consider either 'President' or 'the president'.

A. the B. /

#2. In 1768, __ Commander of the Endeavour, James Cook met Joseph, who was appointed president of the Royal Society 10 years later.

A. the B. /

This is incorrect without a comma after 'Cook'.

Are there any differences between the above sentences? (Please pay attention to the comma in Sentence 1)

It's often tricky to write phrases where a common noun is used as part of a title. To some extent, it's a matter of convention.

Note we see, eg,

President of the United States

the President of the United States

The President of the United States

Because it is such an important position, we rarely or never see

the president of the United States

Best wishes, Clive

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