This is my friend whose name

[Untaught88]

Hi,

A comma is not necessary after "friend" in the following sentence, right?
This is my friend whose name is...

 

[teechar]

It's a strange one. Try:
This is my friend, Jess.

 

[jutfrank]

It's not a very natural thing to say but if you are making a non-defining relative clause, which it seems you are, then yes, you should really include a comma.

 

[Untaught88]

What if I don't put a comma in your example, teechar?

 

[bhaisahab]

In that case you are introducing someone to Jess .

 

[Phaedrus]

This is my friend, Jess.

In American English, if the speaker had more than one friend, the comma would not be used. That's how we would indicate that the appositive is restrictive: This is my friend Jess.

A comma is not necessary after "friend" in the following sentence, right?
This is my friend whose name is...

Again, not if the speaker has more than one friend. But I agree with Teechar that it's a strange construction; the relative clause restrictively modifies a possessive noun phrase.

I always find relative clauses strange when they meet that description, and I know I'm not alone. Here's how you can fix it: This is the friend of mine whose name is [hard to pronounce].

 

[Tdol]

In that case you are introducing someone to Jess .

Isn't that one interpretation of the version with the comma?

 

[bhaisahab]

Yes it is.