#Rule-24 Nouns of Address 1- Definition Nouns of address ( | English Grammar Rules

#Rule-24 Nouns of Address



1- Definition

Nouns of address (technically called vocatives, but also known as nominatives of address or nouns of direct address) identify the person or group being directly spoken to.
Like interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener or reader know who you are addressing, or to get that person’s attention. For example:

• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”
• “Can I have some money, Mom?”
• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”
• “Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”
• “Hey, guy in the red shirt, can you help me?”



2- Punctuation

Nouns of address are found in the initial, middle, or final position in a sentence. No matter where they occur, they are normally set apart from the rest of the sentence by one or two commas. If they occur in the initial position, they are followed by a comma. If they occur in the middle position, they are enclosed between two commas, and if they occur in the final position, they are preceded by a comma. For example:

• “James, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes.”
• “I was wondering, James, if you could help me with the dishes.”
• “I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes, James.”

• “Class, this is the video I was telling you about.”
• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”
• “This is the video I was telling you about, class.”

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