Appositive

A word or group of words that immediately follows a noun to identify or give more information about the noun is called an appositive. In the sentences below, the appositives are underlined.

  • Charleston, the capital of West Virginia, lies on the Kanawha River.
  • My friends Raj and Sue blow glass ornaments.
  • Sergio Cruz, my grandfather, plays the trumpet.
  • The game chess requires concentration and skill.
  • President Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, freed the slaves.
  • Romeo and Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare, is being performed at the community college.
  • Mrs. Sheker, Sam's chemistry teacher, encouraged him to repeat the experiment.
  • My friend Shirley has read the Constitution.
  • Alexander Hamilton, one of the authors of The Federalist, represented New York at the Constitutional Convention.
  • The first Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, established a financial system for funding the national and state debts.
  • The opportunist Aaron Burr shot and killed his arch enemy Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

Example 1

Identify the appositives from each sentence.

  1. The Delta Queen, a riverboat, tours the Mississippi River.
  2. A monument in Alabama reminds us of the dreaded insect boll weevil.
  3. My favorite treat, eggnog, is available only during the holidays.
  4. Julia looks like her sister Amanda but acts like her sister Laura.
  5. Winter, the coldest season, is when animals' coats are the thickest.
  6. One amendment of the United States Constitution, the Fifth, states that a person cannot be forced to testify against himself.
  7. Robert Yates, a decided Antifederalist, also represented New York at the Constitutional Convention.
  8. The leading Antifederalist propagandist, Abraham Yates, was the brother of Robert Yates.

Solutions

  1. The appositive riverboat gives more information about the noun "Delta Queen."
  2. We see that boll weevil identifies the noun "insect."
  3. Eggnog gives more information about the noun "treat."
  4. Amanda identifies the noun "sister." Laura identifies the second noun "sister."
  5. The phrase the coldest season gives more information about the subject "winter."
  6. The Fifth gives more information about "amendment."
  7. The phrase a decided Antifederalist gives more information about the subject, "Robert Yates."
  8. Abraham Yates renames "the leading Antifederalist propagandist."

Improving Our Writing

With an appositive, we can combine two choppy sentences to make one good one.

TWO CHOPPY SENTENCES:

  • Esperanza is a rich girl in Mexico. Esperanza loves porcelain dolls and pretty dresses.
  • Fred Smith is a pitcher for the Mitford Giants. Fred mows the neighborhood lawns.
  • The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion. The First Amendment is part of the United States Constitution.
  • Robert Yates was a slaveholder. Robert Yates opposed popular government.

ONE GOOD SENTENCE:

  • Esperanza, a rich girl in Mexico, loves porcelain dolls and pretty dresses.
  • Fred Smith, a pitcher for the Mitford Giants, mows the neighborhood lawns.
  • The First Amendment, part of the United States Constitution, guarantees freedom of religion.
  • Robert Yates, a slaveholder, opposed popular government.

Example 2

Combine these pairs of choppy sentences to make one good sentence by using an appositive.

  1. Miguel loves Esperanza. Esperanza is the daughter of his boss.
  2. Esperanza and Mama travel to Mexicali. Mexicali is a city near the border of California.
  3. Some say that Secretariat was the fastest racehorse ever born. Secretariat was the winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby.
  4. You can see da Vinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre. The Louvre is the world's largest art museum.
  5. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Benjamin Franklin was an American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, and scientist.
  6. John Lansing was an Antifederalist by principle and by connection. He was the wealthiest member of his party.

Solutions

We can make an appositive from the first sentence and combine it with the second sentence: 

  1. Miguel loves Esperanza, the daughter of his boss.
  2. Esperanza and Mama travel to Mexicali, a city near the border of California.
  3. Some say that Secretariat, the winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby, was the fastest racehorse ever born.
  4. You can see da Vinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the world's largest art museum.
  5. Benjamin Franklin, born in Boston, Massachusetts, was an American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, and scientist.
  6. John Lansing, an Antifederalist by principle and by connection, was the wealthiest member of his party.

We also can make an appositive from the second sentence and combine it with the first sentence:

5. Benjamin Franklin, an American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, and scientist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

6. John Lansing, the wealthiest member of his party, was an Antifederalist by principle and by connection.