Evan Wix Appositive Review and Practice

What is an appositive?

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

• Ex. My cousin Bryan is my best friend. (Bryan is the appositive identifying the noun cousin)

• Ex. Soledad, a cautious driver, has never had an automobile accident. (The appositive driver describe the proper noun Soledad)

What is an appositive phrase?

• an appositive phrase consists of an appositive and any modifiers it has

• usually follows the noun/pronoun it identifies/describes. It can precede the noun/pronoun as well.

• Ex. A diligent and quick-witted student, Mark always gets good grades.

​

• WHO

• WHAT

• WHERE

• WHEN

• WHY

• HOW

​Appositives Answer...

​

​Using Appositives to Add Information

• Instead of writing multiple choppy sentences about a topic, appositives can be used to combine thoughts and add information into the same sentence. ​

​Using Logic in Appositives

• A common error that young writers make is lack of sentence logic.

• Sentences may be written correctly, but the message they send is not necessary, relevant, or logical.

• We will strive in this unit to write logically by writing appositives with purpose!

​Varying Sentence Structure with Appositives

• Appositives do not need to be right at the beginning of sentences! Instead, you can put them anywhere in the sentence to change up your sentence structure! Just watch out for punctuation!

​HINT: Noun Markers in Appositives

• Appositives *usually start with words called noun markers.

• These are signal words that begin the noun phrase!

Multiple Choice

The head coordinator, Mary, was excited about the event.

• The head coordinator

• Mary

• was excited about the event

• There are no appositives in this sentence.

Multiple Choice

The soloists, the best singers in class, were featured in the musical.

• The soloists

• the best singers in class

• were featured in the musical

• There are no appositives in this sentence.

Multiple Choice

After a trip to the museum, a place that features many Indian artifacts, we had a history quiz.

• After a trip to the museum

• a place that features many Indian artifacts

• we had a history quiz

• There are no appositives in this sentence.

Multiple Choice

Captain America, a movie starring Chris Evans, has a lot of references to World War II.

• Captain America

• a movie starring Chris Evans

• has a lot of references to World War II

• There are no appositives in this sentence.

Multiple Choice

What is the appositive phrase in the following:

Leonardo da Vinci, the great Renaissance painter, was also an inventor.

• Leonardo da Vinci, the great Renaissance painter,

• , was also an inventor.

• Leonardo da Vinci,

• , the great Renaissance painter,

Multiple Choice

What is the appositive phrase in the following:

Clarence, an angel, must accomplish this goal by helping the character George Bailey realize what a wonderful life he has had.

• Clarence,

• , must accomplish this goal by helping the character George Bailey realize what a wonderful life he has had.

• , an angel,

• what a wonderful life he has had.

Multiple Choice

True or false?

If the appositive is important or essential to the meaning of your sentence, do not use commas to off set the appositive.

• True

• False