Appositives

What is an appositive?

• An appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify or describe it.

Examples:The cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space.I chose one person, her, to organize the volunteers.

Try One On Your Own

Rachel Carson, a biologist and writer, published the book Silent Spring in 1962.

Appositive Phrases

• An appositive phrase consists of an appositive and its modifiers.

ExamplesOfficer Webb, one of the security guards, caught the burglar.Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian painter know for his artworks, was also an architect, engineer, and scientist.

What about those commas?

Appositives and appositive phrases that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence are set off by commas. If the appositive is essential to the meaning, it is generally not set off by commas.

Let’s look at some examples.

Examples

• Essential appositive:–My friend Lindsay got locked out of the

house by her baby this weekend.

• Nonessential appositive:– Lindsay, my friend, got locked out of the

house by her baby this weekend.

Practice

For each sentence, underline the appositive and appositive phrase. We will do one together as an example.

1. Tacos, one of the most popular Mexican dishes, are served here.

2. My twin, Daniel, rode in the Mardi Gras parade.

3. Shelley asked everyone where her friend Bianca had gone.