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what is an appositive and appositive phrase

by Miss Alexa Schiller PhD Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Appositive Phrase

  • 1. What is an Appositive Phrase? An appositive is a noun or noun phrase ( appositive phrase) that gives another name to the noun right next to it. It adds descriptive words about a specific thing (the noun), which helps make a sentence more detailed; or, it adds essential information to make the sentence’s meaning clear.
  • 2. Examples of an Appositive Phrase

An appositive is a noun or phrase that renames or describes the noun to which it is next. For ex- ample: In the first sentence, the appositive “my brother” renames Richard, thus identifying who he is. In the second example, the appositive “a well-known lecturer” provides a description of Dr. Smith.Aug 11, 2011

Full Answer

What does appositive mean in a part of speech?

Appositives are nouns or noun phrases that follow or come before a noun, and give more information about it. The puppy, a golden retriever, is my newest pet. “ a golden retriever ” is an appositive to “ The puppy. ” The word appositive is derived from the Latin phrases ad and positio meaning “near” and “placement.” II. Examples of Appositive

What are some example of an appositive in sentence?

Examples of an Appositive Phrase

  • The smallest state in the US, Rhode Island is in the northeast.
  • The dog, a beagle, is great at following a scent.
  • The apartment had bugs, big brown cockroaches!

How to use appositives?

Tips When Using Appositives in a Sentence

  1. It is very important for you to correctly and appropriately punctuate the appositive that you will use in a sentence. ...
  2. Do not use appositives just for the sake of having one in your sentence. ...
  3. Know where to place the appositive in the sentence. ...

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What is the meaning of appositive clues?

An appositive is a word or group of words that renames something else. An appositive is often a noun or noun phrase that helps explain or identify another noun or a pronoun. How do you know if an appositive is restrictive or non restrictive? Appositives may or may not be crucial to identify the noun or noun phrase.

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What is appositive phrase example?

An appositive is a noun or a noun phrase that renames the noun next to it. It serves the purpose of adding information about another noun. For example, consider the phrase "The boy raced ahead to the finish line. "

What is the appositive phrase in this sentence?

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase (appositive phrase) that gives another name to the noun right next to it. It adds descriptive words about a specific thing (the noun), which helps make a sentence more detailed; or, it adds essential information to make the sentence's meaning clear.

What is an apposition phrase?

In grammar, an apposition occurs when two words or phrases are placed beside each other in a sentence so that one describes or defines the other. An example is the phrase "my dog Woofers," in which "my dog" is in apposition to the name "Woofers."

What is the difference between appositive and apposition?

The best way to remember the difference between apposition and appositive is that one is part of the whole. Apposition is the instance when two noun phrases next to each other in a clause refer to the same person, place or thing. Appositive is the second noun phrase when apposition occurs.

What is a simple appositive?

An appositive is a noun that immediately follows and renames another noun in order to clarify or classify it. Appositives are used to reduce wordiness, add detail, and add syntactic variety to a sentence. For example, you can combine two simple sentences to create one sentence that contains an appositive.

How do you start a sentence with an appositive?

An appositive at the beginning of a sentence is usually followed by a comma. In each of the examples seen so far, the appositive has referred to the subject of the sentence. However, an appositive may appear before or after any noun in a sentence.

How do you write an appositive?

In order to use appositives, it is important to remember that appositives are noun phrases rather than adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, or otherwise. To be an appositive, they must contain a noun. Find a noun in the sentence which can be elaborated on. Insert an appositive beside the noun.

What are the types of apposition?

Appositive can be two types- Restrictive (essential) or non-restrictive (non-essential) appositive. Restrictive Appositive: When an appositive is needed in a sentence and it renames a noun or pronoun which is general, then it is referred as an essential or restrictive appositive.

Can an appositive be a single word?

One type of phrase is the appositive, which can be one word or a phrase that renames another noun phrase in the sentence. To punctuate appositives, you must first determine if the phrase is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Is my friend an appositive phrase?

The appositive usually follows the noun it modifies. George, my best friend, is from Hawaii. (The appositive noun is friend.)

Why do writers use Appositives and appositive phrases in their writing?

An appositive phrase is a specific type of noun phrase. Its purpose is to add bonus information to a subject or object. The appositive phrase might provide clarification about a noun, or it might simply be extraneous information.

Can an appositive phrase have a verb?

Although nouns including pronouns and noun phrases most frequently perform the function, verb phrases in the form of present participles and infinitives sometimes function as appositives in English.

What is phrase example?

1 : a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not form a complete sentence The group of words "out the door" in "they ran out the door" is a phrase.

What is an example of a verb phrase?

A verb phrase or verbal phrase consists of a verb, or of a main verb following a modal or one or more auxiliaries. Examples are ` walked,' `can see,' and `had been waiting. '

What are noun phrases examples?

Noun phrases are groups of words that function like nouns. Typically, they act as subjects, objects or prepositional objects in a sentence....Examples of simple noun phrases include:the little boy.the happy puppy.the building on the corner.the sharp pencil.your religion.

What is absolute phrase example?

An absolute phrase (nominative absolute) is generally made up of a noun or pronoun with a participial phrase. It modifies the whole sentence, not a single noun, which makes it different from a participial phrase. Absolute phrases: Its branches covered in icicles, the tall oak stood in our yard.

What is an appositive phrase?

Appositive phrase definition: An appositive phrase is simply an appositive and its modifiers.

What does "appositive" mean in a sentence?

What does appositive mean? An appositive is a noun or pronoun. It further identifies or explains another noun or pronoun in a sentence. Almost always an appositive interrupts the flow of a sentence and is therefore set apart with specific punctuation. Appositives are set apart with commons.

Why do we use appositives in a sentence?

Here, the overuse of appositives negatively interrupts the flow of the sentence. Appositives should add content to a sentence to make the writing more concise but not in such a way that they create confusing syntax. In this case the writer should break up this information to multiple sentences.

What is restrictive appositive?

The previous examples are all non-restrictive. A restrictive appositive is one that cannot be removed from the sentence. It often looks like a non-restrictive appositive but it does not have any punctuation to set it apart. Let’s look at an example to further explain this concept.

What punctuates the appositive phrase?

In this sentence, a dash punctuates the appositive phrase.

Why do you put a comma in an appositive?

Appositives are punctuated with commas and add additional information to make writing more effective and more concise.

Can appositives be removed from a sentence?

Since appositives add additional information to a sentence, most appositives can be completely removed from the sentence and the sentence will still be grammatically correct.

What Is an Appositive Phrase?

An appositive noun phrase is a type of noun phrase that provides additional information about the subject or objects of a sentence. To understand appositive phrases, we need to define what a noun phrase is.

What Are the Two Types of Appositive Phrases?

There are two types of appositives and appositive phrases. Nonrestrictive appositives, also called nonessential appositives, provide information about the noun that is not essential to the sentence. The sentence will still make sense if you remove the appositive phrase.

Where is the appositive phrase?

Appositive phrases can come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Most times an appositive phrase comes after its noun, but sometimes it comes before.

How to identify an appositive phrase?

You can identify an appositive phrase because it is what adds details to the main noun, so, depending on the sentence’s style, sometimes it comes before, and sometimes it comes after. a. Noun followed by an Appositive. The most common way to use an appositive phrase is by putting it after a noun, like this:

What is an appositive noun?

An appositive noun or phrase can come before or after the main noun. It can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, as long as it is right next to the noun it describes. In the examples, appositives are red, and nouns are green.

How to use "appositive" in a sentence?

The most common way to use an appositive phrase is by putting it after a noun, like this: 1 Sparky, the dog who loved popcorn, was well known around the neighborhood. 2 The dog, who loved popcorn, could often be spotted at the fair. 3 The dog named Sparky was loved by everyone. 4 At the fair, we saw Sparky, the friendly neighborhood dog.

Why is the phrase "former First Lady" appositive?

Here, the appositive phrase is “former First Lady,” because it adds information about Barbara Bush. In this situation, it doesn’t give essential information. We could take away the appositive phrase, and it still makes sense: Barbara Bush could become the oldest living First Lady.

Do you need a comma in a sentence without an appositive?

Since “Barbara Bush” is necessary information, we don’t need commas. If an appositive phrase isn’t crucial in a sentence, then you do need comma (s).

Is "sparky" an appositive phrase?

Even though it might add important information, an appositive phrase shouldn’t affect a sentence’s grammar. So, a sentence should make sense without it: Sparky was well known around the neighborhood.

What is the meaning of the appositive?

It is the perpetual dread of fear, the fear of fear, that shapes the face of a brave man. This tale, this tragic tale, was full of cruel wars, savage devastation, unnecessary deaths and the inevitable search for bloody vengeance.

Where does the word "appositive" come from?

The word appositive comes from the Latin phrases ad and position meaning "near" and "placement.". An appositive will nearly always be to the immediate right of the noun it is renaming or describing in another way. However, they do occasionally appear farther away.

Why Should I Care about Appositives?

If that's true for you, it's something worth overcoming because appositives are useful for providing interesting detail mid-sentence in a way that doesn't wreck your sentence structure, and they can be good for emphasis.

What is a non-restrictive appositive?

When it's just removable bonus information, it's called a non-restrictive appositive. Non-restrictive appositives are always offset with commas, dashes or brackets. Restrictive appositives are usually offset with commas, dashes, or parentheses (round brackets) but not always.

Why are appositives important?

If that's true for you, it's something worth overcoming because appositives are useful for providing interesting detail mid-sentence in a way that doesn't wreck your sentence structure, and they can be good for emphasis. So, here are two good reasons to care about appositives.

When a restrictive appositive is not offset with punctuation, the structure will be?

When a restrictive appositive is not offset with punctuation (as in the two examples above and the first example below), the structure will be [generic term-specific term], as opposed to [specific term-generic term].

How to put emphasis on an appositive?

Another great way to create emphasis with an appositive is to put it at the end of the sentence after a colon. To do this, you will need to deliberately structure your sentence to set the stage for the appositive (like a punchline). To pass this course you need just one trait: determination.

What Is an Appositive?

In English, an appositive can be a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun next to the main noun or pronoun that helps identify or explain the main noun. Appositives in English often appear with modifiers. They may be a single word or several words, but the intent is the same. In other words, an appositive is a way to add supplementary detail about the main noun in a sentence. In fact, the word appositive comes from the Latin word appositivus, which means subsidiary or supplementary.

What does "appositive" mean in a sentence?

In other words, an appositive is a way to add supplementary detail about the main noun in a sentence. In fact, the word appositive comes from the Latin word appositivus, which means subsidiary or supplementary.

What Is Apposition In English Grammar?

Apposition is the process in which two coordinate elements — mostly noun phrases — are placed side-by-side in a sentence. We call these elements appositives. These two elements denote the same subject and have the same relationship with the other sentence elements. However, the second appositive often describes the first.

Why Are Appositives Important?

Appositives are an important writing tool because they help add color and detail to writing. For example, appositives add variation and improve rhythm by offering an alternative to lots of short, consecutive sentences. Furthermore, appositives can help make your writing more concise and interesting. They do this by helping combine multiple simple sentences into one complex sentence with a more captivating flow.

What Is an Example Of Appositives?

It describes, helps identify, explains, or gives more information about that main noun. For example: My cat, Bengal, is bigger than you might expect. In the example, “my cat” is in apposition to “Bengal.” This is because “my cat” is describing or defining what “Bengal” is.

How Do You Write an Appositive?

That said, here’s how to correctly write an appositive: First, find a main noun in a sentence. Then, directly next to the main noun, insert a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that further identifies or explains that main noun. If the appositive is essential or restrictive, you don’t need to offset it with commas or parenthesis. However, if it is essential, you do.

What Is an Emphatic Appositive?

Emphatic appositives are appositives that appear at the end of a sentence. A colon or an em dash often precedes them. Most writers use emphatic appositives to highlight or call attention to important ideas. If you encounter these appositives, it’s like the writer is waving at you while pointing to the end of the sentence. Here are some examples of emphatic appositives:

What is an appositive?

An appositive is a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. Here are some examples of appositives (the noun or pronoun will be in blue, the appositive will be in red ). Your friend Bill is in trouble.

Why do we not put commas around the appositive?

Here we do not put commas around the appositive because it is essential information. Without the appositive, the sentence would be, "The popular US president was known for his eloquent and inspirational speeches." We wouldn't know who the president is without the appositive.

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What Are Appositives and Appositive Phrases?

  • Anappositive is a noun or noun phrase that clarifies, identifies, describes, or otherwise renames another noun or noun phrase. For example, the sentence My cousin Rebecca is a doctor contains the appositive noun Rebecca. The appositive Rebecca identifies the noun cousin and both words refer to the same person. An appositive can also be a noun phras...
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Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive Appositives

  • When it comes to appositives, they can be referred to as restrictive or nonrestrictive. The difference between these two types of appositives is that a restrictive appositive provides essential information whereas a nonrestrictive appositive provides information that simply gives bonus details. First, let’s look at an example of a nonrestrictive appositive: 1. The company presi…
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Punctuation of Appositives

  • As it turns out, restrictive and nonrestrictive appositives require different punctuation in sentences, which you may have noticed by the appearance of our frenemy the commain our examples. Here is the main difference when it comes to appositive punctuation: 1. Restrictive appositives don’t use any additional punctuation. 2. Nonrestrictive appositives are separated ou…
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Test Yourself!

  • Before we finish things up, let’s test your knowledge of appositives. Read each of the following sentences, and see if you can tell how each one should be properly punctuated. Remember, the key is to identify if an appositive is restrictive or nonrestrictive. Note: you may need to read the sentence carefully to figure out the context that reveals what type of appositive you are looking …
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Write Without Errors

  • Improve your writing with Thesaurus.com’s Grammar Coach™, which catches grammar and spelling errors and provides Thesaurus-powered synonym suggestions. Using machine learning, this tool can definitely spot the difference between your singular and plural collective nouns—and more! Whether you’re writing about a person, place, or thing, perfect grammar has never been ea…
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1.Appositives and Appositive Phrases—How to Use Them

Url:https://www.grammarly.com/blog/appositive/

33 hours ago WebAn appositive noun or noun phrase follows another noun or noun phrase in apposition to it; that is, it provides information that further identifies or defines it. Such “bonus facts” are …

2.What Are Appositives & Appositive Phrases?

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36 hours ago WebAn appositive is a noun or noun phrase renaming or modifying another noun or noun phrase that precedes it. These two nouns (the appositive and the noun or noun phrase) refer to …

3.Videos of What Is An Appositive and Appositive Phrase

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3 hours ago WebAppositives Can Be Nouns, Noun Phrases, or Noun Clauses. Appositives always further identify a noun or pronoun in the sentence. And an appositive can be more than just a …

4.Appositives | Merriam-Webster

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14 hours ago Web · An appositive noun phrase is a type of noun phrase that provides additional information about the subject or objects of a sentence. To understand appositive …

5.What is an Appositive? Definition, Examples of Appositive …

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8 hours ago Web · What Is an Appositive Phrase? An appositive phrase is a group of words consisting of an appositive and its modifiers. Like a single word appositive, appositive …

6.Appositive Phrase: What Is It & How To Use in Writing

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29 hours ago Web1. What is an Appositive Phrase? An appositive is a noun or noun phrase ( appositive phrase) that gives another name to the noun right next to it. It adds descriptive words …

7.Appositive Phrase: Examples and Definition

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27 hours ago WebAn appositive is a noun or a noun phrase that sits next to another noun to rename it or to describe it in another way. (The word appositive comes from the Latin for to put near .) …

8.Appositive: Explanation and Examples - Grammar Monster

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21 hours ago Web · What Is an Appositive And Appositive Phrase? An appositive defines or identifies the main noun or pronoun that it sits beside. An appositive phrase is made up …

9.What Is an Appositive? Definition, Examples, and Usage …

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26 hours ago WebAn appositive is a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. Here are some examples of appositives (the noun or …

10.Appositives // Purdue Writing Lab

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