Language ArtsColumbia SchoolEMCSDEl Monte, CA

© 2011 William Mason. All rights reserved. Columbia (EMCSD) staff members are free to use this presentation for any on-campus instructional purpose.

An appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside (after) another noun or pronoun to identify, modify, or describe it. Think of it as “renaming” the noun.

The astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.

“Neil Armstrong” identifies, describes, or renames “astronaut” — and, in this case, also makes it more specific.

Appositive

Noun Described

Again, an appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside (after) another noun or pronoun to identify, modify, or describe it. And, yes, once again, think of it as “renaming” the noun.

I chose one person, her, to organize the school’s volunteers.

“Her” identifies, describes, or renames “person.”

Appositive

Noun Described

Your turn! Identify the appositives …

My dog, Zanzibar, dug up bones on Mars for his vacation.

I saw the hit movie Shrek with my best friend last night.

In the city park I found only one dog, his.

Appositive

Noun Described

Noun Described

Noun Described

Appositive

Appositive

Take the very same concept and apply it to a phrase. But remember, a phrase is a collection (or group) of related words that is used as a single part of speech and that does not contain both a verb and a subject.

An appositive phrase is usedas what part of speech?

NOUN

And, of course, the appositive phrase will not contain both a verb and its subject because then you will have a clause or possibly even a sentence.

So …

An appositive phrase acts like a noun and consists or is made up of an appositive and its modifiers (related words). It follows the noun it describes, identifies, modifies, or renames.

Put another way …

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States,

was known for his humor and optimism.

Early in the 16th century a young Italian artist,

Michelangelo, sculpted the David, one of the world’s

greatest art treasures.

Remember, an appositive phrase is a group of related words that acts as a noun and describes, identifies, modifies, or renames the noun it follows.

Appositive

Noun Described

Appositive

Noun Described

Noun Described

Appositive

Your turn! Identify the appositive phrases …

Be sure to cut the board to the exact length, five feet.

I’ll have a sandwich, roast beef on whole wheat bread, please.

Jose took his friend Jennifer Lopez to the party at Disneyland.

Appositive

Noun Described

Noun Described

Noun Described

Appositive

Appositive

One last but very important point: Appositives and appositive phrases can be either essential or non-essential.

Essential means “needed” or “critical” or “necessary” — Your heart is an essential organ, water is an essential nutrient, and love is an essential human need.

An essential word or phrase is one that is needed (required) to understand the writer’s intent and/or meaning.

If the appositive or appositive phrase is essential to the meaning the writer intended, it is usually NOT set off by commas.

Remember: Essential usually means you do NOT use a comma; for non-essential words or phrases, you should use a comma.

,non-essential

use comma

,essential

no comma

Here is our first example …

The astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.

Appositive

Noun Described

Twelve men have walked on the surface of the moon. If you leave out the appositive, what you have left is this:

The astronaut was the first person to walk on the moon.

Although it is a complete sentence, we cannot know the writer’s meaning because we don’t know the identity of the astronaut. “Neil Armstrong” is therefore an essential appositive, so no commas are used.

,

And here is our second example …

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States,

was known for his humor and optimism.

Appositive

Noun Described

If you leave out the appositive phrase, what you have left is this:

Ronald Reagan was known for his humor and optimism.

It is a complete sentence, and we understand the author’s meaning: Reagan told great stories and jokes, and he always had a positive attitude. The phrase is non-essential, so we use commas. The fact that he was the 40th president is interesting, but it does not add to our understanding of Reagan’s “style.”

,

Finally, our last example example …

The writer has only one dog, so the name of the dog is not essential: We can still identify the specific dog being written about — so a comma is used.

The writer has more than one dog, so the name of the dog is essential: We cannot identify the specific dog unless we have the dog’s name — so a comma is NOT used.

My dog Zanzibar likes to fly. ,Noun Described

Appositive

My dog, Zanzibar, likes to fly. ,Noun Described

Appositive

Your turn! Are these appositives essential or non-essential?

Mr. Mason, my language arts teacher, is 39 years old.

Is “my language arts teacher” needed to understand the writer’s meaning? If the appositive phrase is removed, will we still be able to identify the subject?

,Appositiv

e

How many brothers are there? One? More than one? How does that affect comma use? Why?

My brother, Paul, has blond hair. ,Appositiv

e

Your turn! Are these appositives essential or non-essential?

Mr. Mason, my language arts teacher, is 39 years old.

Is “my language arts teacher” needed to understand the writer’s meaning? If the appositive phrase is removed, will we still be able to identify the subject?

,Appositiv

e

How many brothers are there? One? More than one? How does that affect comma use? Why?

My brother, Paul, has blond hair.

Appositive

,

San Diego has more than 70 miles of coastline. It is a

major tourist center. It is California’s second largest city.

San Diego, a major tourist center and California’s second

largest city, has more than 70 miles of coastline.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 2001,

when the Unites States was attacked by Al-Qaeda, a

group of Islamic terrorists.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attack on the

United States by Al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Al-

Qaeda is an Islamic terrorist group.

So … One last time … you know you love it!

An appositive phrase acts like a noun and consists or is made up of an appositive and its modifiers (related words). It follows the noun it describes, identifies, modifies, or renames.

Put another way …