Appositives and Appositive Phrases
Appositives
An appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify or describe it.
Appositives add specific details that the sentence would otherwise lack.
An appositive may be a single noun or pronoun, or it may be a compound noun or pronoun.
An appositive may be a single noun or pronoun, or it may be a compound noun or pronoun.
EXAMPLES
- Their cat Frost has a silver coat. [Cat is a general noun, but the appositive Frost tells which cat.]
- Our earliest crops, carrots and radishes, were almost ready for harvesting. [Crops is a general noun, but the appositive nouns, carrots and radishes, tell what specific crops.]
- Vegetables, these plants are good for our health. [The appositive Vegetables comes before the more general noun plants for emphasis. Usually, an appositive follows the noun or pronoun it identifies.]
TIP
Very often, single-word or compound appositives are set off from the main sentence by commas. Sometimes, the commas can help you locate appositives.
EXAMPLE
- These plants, fresh corn and prickly okra, will be harvested soon.
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Appositive Phrases
An appositive phrase consists of an appositive and any modifiers the appositive has.
Like appositives, the appositive phrase adds detail and interest to the main sentence.
EXAMPLE
- The two machines, an off-balance washer and a dryer with a frayed belt, made a lot of noise. [The appositive phrase identifies the more general noun machines.]