COLOR KEY and DEFINITIONS
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE = a group of words that has a subject and a verb and that can stand on its own as a complete sentence.
MAIN CLAUSE = another term for INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE= a dependent clause that describes a noun
APPOSITIVE = a noun phrase that describes or renames another noun.  Usually the appositive appears immediately after the noun being renamed, just as an adjective clause usually appears immediately after the antecedentdent.
RELATIVE PRONOUN = the first word of every adjective clause
ANTECEDENT = the noun that a pronoun refers to.  It appears BEFORE the pronoun (ANTE means BEFORE).
VERB = the ACTION that someone or something is doing

Examples:
This sentence has an adjective clause: John Reed, who is a gray haired man, is meeting me for lunch.

• What is the adjective clause?  -- who is a gray haired man.
• What is the independent clause? -- John Reed is meeting me for lunch.
• The adjective clause has a relative pronoun and a verb. -- who is a gray haired man.
• The verb is is a one of the weenie verbs.

• This sentence has an appositive.  -- a gray haired man.
• What is the independent clause? -- John Reed is meeting me for lunch.
• Notice that both sentences convey the same meaning.  However, notice how the appositive conveys the same meaning in fewer words.  Appositives are cool because they can help to get rid of weenie verbs; they can replace adjective clauses that have weenie verbs.

Appositives and Commas
Which comma rules have we covered so far?

• Between items in a series
• After introductory phrases and clauses
• Before FANBOYS only when they join two independent clauses
• Around non-essential phrases and clauses that interrupt

• The "Around non-essential things that interrupt" rule applies.  An appositive always interrupts the main clause, so you should always put commas around an appositive.