Transcript Appositives
Appositives are nouns or pronouns that rename another noun or pronoun. Appositives are placed directly after the noun or pronoun they modify. • Bob’s car, a wreck, died a grisly death by the side of the interstate. • Spot, a cat, should understand my moods. • She, my friend, is always late. Some appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence; others are not. Be sure to use commas carefully to establish meaning with essential and nonessential appositives. • I gave my cousin Mitch a noogie. • I gave my husband, Micah, the dishes. Appositives phrases are nouns or pronouns with modifiers. Appositive phrases provide additional information and description to the sentence. As with solitary appositives, appositive phrases are placed near the noun or pronoun they describe. • Columbia University, the second-largest landowner in New York City, is part of the Ivy League. • David Prowse, the guy in the Darth Vader suit in the Star Wars movie, did not find out that his lines were going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie. Appositive: A word, phrase or clause that means the same thing as (i.e., synonym) or further explains another noun (pronoun). • Non-restrictive appositives are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. • Restrictive appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence. 1. NON-RESTRICTIVE: • The Grand Canyon, one of our nation's most popular tourist attractions, is breathtaking to behold. – Because we have identified the place by name, the rest is additional information. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it out and the meaning would not change. • Neil Armstrong, the first man who walked on the moon, is a native of Ohio. – Because we have identified the person by name, the additional information is not restricted to the sentence. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it out and the meaning would not change. 2. RESTRICTIVE: • We students are happy with good grades. – STUDENTS identify who WE [subj.] are. If we remove it, WE does not have the same meaning. • She waited patiently for the famous author Stephen King. – STEPHEN KING identifies which famous author. There is no comma after AUTHOR because there are many famous authors. 1. NON-RESTRICTIVE: • Her husband, Fritz, is a nice guy. – We assume she has only one husband. Thus, commas are used. • The firm chose Mary, vice president of public affairs, as its chief executive officer. – Because we have identified the person by name, her title is additional information. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it out and the meaning would not change. 2. RESTRICTIVE: • Evan's friend John cheated on the test. – EVAN has more than one friend; therefore, no commas are used to set off JOHN. We need the name to know which friend we're talking about.