NonEssentials

Welcome to Grammar Flip. We give a hoot about grammar. So we only actually use commas around non-essential elements. Let's talk about some examples of those. The 1980s singer Michael Jackson was a successful musician. Well, if we take Michael Jackson out of the sentence, the sentence completely has a different meaning. The 1980s singer was a successful musician. We're talking about singer. Who are we talking about? Michael Jackson is a very important detail to that sentence. And therefore it's an essential element. And we would not put commas around it. But what if we said Michael Jackson, a 1980s singer, was a successful musician? Well, a 1980s singer is actually just providing us a little bit more detail and a little bit more information about Michael Jackson. But it doesn't actually change the meaning of the sentence. Michael Jackson was a successful musician. The sentence still is telling us the exact same thing. A 1980s singer is just extra information, and we're going to offset that by including commas. Let's look at another example. Visit grammarflip. com for video lessons, practice exercises, writing activities, and more. Start your free trial today.