Which sentence uses appositive punctuation correctly?

• A. My brother, a skilled guitarist, plays in a band.
• B. My brother a skilled guitarist, plays in a band.
• C. My brother, a skilled guitarist plays in a band.
• D. My brother a skilled guitarist, plays in a band.

Answer: (A)

Appositive phrases add extra information about a noun, and when that information is not essential for identifying the noun, it should be set off with commas. Here, “a skilled guitarist” explains more about “my brother” but isn’t needed to know who he is, so it belongs between two commas: My brother, a skilled guitarist, plays in a band. This double-comma setup signals that the appositive is nonessential and simply adds detail.

If the sentence omits one of those commas, the appositive isn’t clearly separated from the rest of the sentence, which makes the punctuation feel off or run-on. If the appositive isn’t enclosed by commas, it can read as a restricted identifier, changing how the sentence would be understood. The other structures either squeeze the appositive into the flow without proper separation or leave the sentence ambiguous, whereas the first version clearly shows the extra information as nonessential.