ACT English: Use Parenthetical Commas (Appositives) Correctly

A parenthetical element is a phrase that adds extra information but is not essential to the sentence. Examples: "My friend Sarah, a talented musician, won the competition." Or "The book, published in 2020, became a bestseller." The extra information (between commas) is nonrestrictive; you could remove it and the sentence still makes sense. Rule: Nonrestrictive elements need comma pairs (before and after). Restrictive elements do not. "My friend who is a musician won the competition" (no commas; essential info identifying which friend). "My friend Sarah, who is a musician, won the competition" (commas; extra info about Sarah). Students who master this rule catch 80% of comma errors on ACT English and earn 1-2 points per test.

Test: Can you remove the phrase and still understand the sentence? If yes, use commas (nonrestrictive). If removing it makes the sentence unclear, skip commas (restrictive).

Mistake 1: Using only one comma when two are needed. ("My friend Sarah, a musician won the competition.") Mistake 2: Using commas when the element is restrictive. ("The students, who studied hard, passed." If this means all students studied hard, fine. If it means only those who studied hard passed, remove commas.) Mistake 3: Confusing appositives with other phrases. (Appositives rename or describe a noun; other phrases may not need comma pairs.) Mistake 4: Adding commas around essential clauses. (Clauses with "who," "which," "that" can be essential or nonessential; judge based on context.) Mistake 5: Inconsistent punctuation. (If you use commas, use a pair; do not comma one side only.) Learn these five mistakes and you will avoid them.

Mark every comma pair in an ACT English passage. Ask: Is this element nonessential? Does it have two commas? This habit trains your eye.

Identify the parenthetical (nonrestrictive) elements in three ACT English passages. Circle them. Check if they have comma pairs. If not, add them. If they do, verify the commas are correct. This drill teaches you to spot nonrestrictive elements and punctuate them automatically, a skill that prevents 1-2 comma errors per test.

Do this drill once per week for two weeks. By test day, parenthetical commas will feel intuitive.

One or two parenthetical comma questions appear per ACT English section. Each is worth 1 point. Mastering this rule nets you 2 guaranteed points per English section, raising your composite by nearly 1 full point.

This week, learn the rule and drill it. By test day, parenthetical commas will be your easiest, fastest English answers.