At 04:05 PM 7/26/2001, you wrote: >Jennifer, > >1) The commas aren't needed with single word appositives: "My sister >Alice was beautiful." Actually the distinction is between restrictive appositives (no commas) and nonrestrictive appositives (commas). The number of words has nothing to do with it. Restrictive examples (note: these are read with no pauses): The color purple is ... Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice is ... My son the doctor is ... Nonrestrictive examples (note the pauses where the commas are): My favorite color, purple, is ... Shakespeare's most celebrated play, Hamlet, is ... My father, a Korean War veteran, is ... Dick Veit