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