In the above excerpt, a restrictive appositive is clarifying and describing a noun “traditional gift.” Here, this literary device has appeared after the noun, specifying the type of gift. Related words - appositive synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms. They are one and the same. And what if you were told, you can merge this two sentences into one sentence. An appositive may be introduced by a word or phrase such as namely, for example, or that is. 5. Dashes almost always precede a short, climactic appositive, whereas a colon will generally precede longer appositives. It is helpful to combine sentences to avoid too many choppy and short sentences. Mrs. Jones renames teacher. 2. Examples of Appositive in Literature Example #1: A Christmas Memory (By Truman Capote) “Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape together a nickel and go to the butcher’s to buy Queenie’s traditional gift, a good gnawable beef bone.” In the above excerpt, a restrictive appositive is clarifying and describing a … Examples of appositive phrases Willa Cather, an American novelist, wrote My Antonia. These are constructions where one of the appositives consísts itself of two or more units which are themselves in apposition … Combine the short, choppy sentences below into a single sentence that uses as least one appositive. 1. literary device used with the specific purpose of providing a more detailed explanation or modification of a noun “Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape together a nickel and go to the butcher’s to buy Queenie’s traditional gift, a good gnawable beef bone.”. Example: We went on vacation. In the examples, appositives are red, and nouns are green. More Examples of Sentences with Appositives. Our home, a farmhouse, is being repaired. My best friend went with us. In this grammatical structure, writers place elements like noun phrases side-by-side, where one element serves to define the other, and one is in apposition to the other. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that defines or restates another noun (or pronoun). Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. An appositive is a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. In the above example, Batman is the essential appositive without which the sentence sounds incomplete due to lack of information. “I have had the great honor to have played with these great veteran ballplayers on my left –Murderers Row, our championship team of 1927. Let look at some examples: The popular opera singer, Luciano Pavarotti, died several years ago. The appositive renames or describes the subject king by specifying which king the sentence is about. In this line, “the condemned cells” is a noun phrase, while “a row of sheds” is an appositive that explains this noun phrase. Read on to learn more! 1. An appositive noun also defines, explains, and clarifies the meaning of a sentence. The appositive phrase in the sentence is highlighted using red color. You also learn different forms of. (Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn. Examples of appositive nouns involve nouns that rename the noun next to it. The smallest state in the US, Rhode Island is in the northeast. "Though her cheeks were high-colored and her teeth strong and yellow, she looked like a mechanical woman, "I have had the great honor to have played with these great veteran ballplayers on my left—. In writing a non-restrictive appositive is set off by commas. Lisbon, a thriving port in Portugal, has often been the scene of espionage. A clauseis a unit of word… This example identifies a noun, “friend,” with the single-word apposite, “Shari.” Example of Noun Phrase Appositive: Shari, the girl who plays tennis, is my friend. The book Black Beauty is about a horse. Generally, the appositive follows the word it defines, as in My friend, Susan, came to dinner. Marcus, my sister's hamster, likes to run in a wheel. If you frequently review examples of appositive nouns, you'll be … Now, what if you were told that there is a common noun in the two sentences, Albert and classmate. The dog, a beagle, is great at following a scent. It clarifies the meaning of a phrase but, if the appositive is removed, the meaning of the entire sentence changes. This is another good example of non-restrictive appositive, in which the noun “father” does not need extra information, but the author has used a long noun phrase, “a fat, funny man … and a subversive wit,” to describe it. (P.G. To sum up, these phrases are nouns or pronouns that explain more about another noun. The function of appositive in literary works is to provide information, which is either essential or additional. "Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape together a nickel and go to the butcher's to buy Queenie's traditional gift. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. An appositive is usually non-restrictive which means that it only gives additional information about the first noun phrase whose reference in quite clear. The scouts climbed the mountain, one of the highest in the region. “My father, a fat, funny man with beautiful eyes and a subversive wit, is trying to decide which of his eight children he will take with him to the county fair.”. They are most often found when introducing the reader to a new character or concept. In this example, the noun phrase, “the girl who plays tennis,” is the appositive. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Punctuating Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Appositives, Nonrestrictive Elements: Definition and Examples, 100 Key Terms Used in the Study of Grammar, Practice in Identifying Appositives in Sentences, Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York. The word "appositive" comes from the Latin for "to put near." Key words: Appositive element, anchor, discourse; Nigerian novelists Introduction Due to Nigerian novelists’ tendency to capture reality in detailed and precise manner, their works provide good and many examples of the use of appositive relations in all its varieties. In English grammar, an appositive is a noun, noun phrase, or series of nouns placed next to another word or phrase to identify or rename it. My best friend, Claire, went on vacation with us to Florida. It can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, as long as it is right next to the noun it describes. In the above excerpt, a restrictive appositive is clarifying and describing a noun “traditional gift.” Here, this literary device has appeared after the noun, specifying the type of gift. "My father, a fat, funny man with beautiful eyes and a subversive wit, is trying to decide which of his eight children he will take with him to the county fair." The apartment had bugs, big brown cockroaches!As you can see, the appositives add information about the nouns. Mr. Harrison, the principal at my school, wears a tie every day. 2. It clarifies the meaning of a phrase but, if the appositive is removed, the meaning of the entire sentence changes. Those words must be divided and organized into communicable units. Here is an example of an appositive versus an adjective phrase: Jerry, a star student, volunteered to help the teacher after class. My uncle, a doctor, is visiting America for the holidays. Definition of appositive in the Fine Dictionary. (extract from The Contender by Robert Lipsyte) Commas are also vital. In this example, the noun “mechanical woman” is defined and identified by a long noun phrase, a restrictive appositive, “flashing, gassy circles for eyes,” which serves as a useful device in this excerpt, and brings variety to the sentence, enhancing its meaning. subject or object. These basically convey extra information of the noun, which could also be omitted from the sentence without altering its meaning. Another nominee, John Prine is a country singer-songwriter. Nonrestrictive appositives are usually set off by commas, parentheses, or dashes. 4. For instance: “We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.” (A Hanging, by George Orwell). This is a literary device that appears before or after a noun or noun phrase. Her name is Claire. “Though her cheeks were high-colored and her teeth strong and yellow, she looked like a mechanical woman, a machine with flashing, glassy circles for eyes.”. It is a literary device, that comes after (or sometimes before) a noun. 727. I like spaghetti, an Italian dish with noodles and sauce. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934) "The sidewalk just outside the Casino was strewn with discarded tickets, the chaff of wasted hope ." An appositive is one of those units. For a more informal construction, you may use a dash instead of the colon before a short, emphatic appositive at the end of a sentence. I have had the further honor of living with and playing with these men on my right — the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees of today. A noun clause may also be used in apposition to a noun to explain its meaning. A phrase is a word or group of words that function as a meaningful unit within a sentence. Example sentences containing appositive 1. Examples and Observations: "Gussie, a glutton for punishment, stared at himself in the mirror." This presents an example of non-restrictive appositive which, if removed, does not change the meaning of the sentence. My sister-in-law Mary can knit a sweater a day. All Rights Reserved. In the case of Non-Restrictive Apposition, the second appositive marked by comma is not necessarily part of the first appositive; rather, it provides information on it. It is always used with a comma. You may also see balanced sentences usage and examples. Book Writing Tips English Writing Skills Writing Resources English Lessons English Vocabulary Words Learn English Words … EXAMPLES. "The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, "As I stood on the platform beneath another, fairly recent London civility—. It stands next to a noun or pronoun and adds information or details. Unlock Content Over 83,000 lessons in all major subjects See more. An appositive noun or phrase can come before or after the main noun. Meaning of appositive with illustrations and photos. Appositive examples are numerous in literature, as they are in regular conversation, journalism, advertising, songwriting, speeches, and so on. Study this example: A landmark decision, Brown v. Board of Education desegregated the public schools. Copyright © 2020 Literary Devices. For two grammatical units to be in apposition, they must be used as the same part of the sentence i.e. Appositive definition, a word or phrase in apposition. In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens. Generally, appositives serve to give the reader just a bit more information about the thing in question. USE AN EMPHATIC APPOSITIVE AT THE END OF A SENTENCE, FOLLOWING A DASH. "The essence of loneliness is that one both remembers and hopes, though in vain, in the midst of one's dissolution. Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so that one element identifies the other in a different way; the two elements are said to be in apposition.One of the elements is called the appositive, although its identification requires consideration of how the elements are used in a sentence. 1. Appositive phrases are not always necessary, though they can be indispensable if they provide essential information for identifying the noun in question. Otherwise, the whole purpose of language is lost. Lou Epstein, the oldest, shortest, and baldest of the three Epstein brothers, barely looked up from the cash register when Alfred entered the store. Examples of Appositives. But the appositive can also precede the noun it defines. Rage against the Machine, a band from California, was also nominated. Non-restrictive appositive gives non-essential or extra information, which is not important to identify the phrase or noun in apposition. In the above extract, Hammer has used an appositive immediately after the noun phrase “Nuclear power station,” which adds information to the sentence. ( Alice Walker, "Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self." 2. Here are some examples of appositives (the noun or pronoun will be in blue, the appositive will be in red). 1. The farmer has cows. The phrases set off by commas in the following sentences are examples of non-restrictive appositives. Plain nothingness compared to it is a comfort. Restrictive appositive gives essential information to identify the phrase or noun in apposition. Pronunciation of appositive and it's etymology. Gehrig identifies a noun, “ballplayers,” by using the restrictive appositive “murderers row,” and he adds a noun “championship team.” These two appositives are used with commas and add meaning and significance to the sentence. In the above example two noun phrases his wife and the queen both refer to the same person in the sentence, thus they are both said to be in apposition. Among the instances of apposition of the nominal class, I have found three examples of reiteratíve apposition, sentences (17), (18) and (19). Example of a One-Word Appositive: My friend, Shari, plays tennis. He has 30 of … Examples from Classical Literature An appositive adjective is added to its noun to explain it, like a noun in apposition . Before we take a closer look at appositives, however, we need to review phrases and clauses. EXAMPLES: The 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees included an American rock band, Devo. Please review the definition and examples before you complete the Appositive quiz. Appositive is an excellent tool that can be defined as a noun or phrase of noun that describes, identifies or renames another word in the same sentence. "The sky was sunless and grey, there was snow in the air, "[N]othing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose—, "And then there was that feeling one gets in a ride to a cemetery trailing a body in a coffin—. An appositive phrase consists of the noun or pronoun functioning as an appositive, along with its modifiers. Karen, the girl sitting behind me in class, is wearing a green shirt. Article by 7ESL. Commas are not necessarily used in this type of appositive, such as in, “John’s friend, Michael, likes chocolates.” Here, John has others friends, but the statement is restricted to only Michael. That ladybug, an insect, just landed on the rose bush. Black Beauty renames book. In a series … Appositives in the English grammar is the renaming of a noun, or noun phrase, in a sentence such as the one mentioned above. Example: His wife, the queen is not easily impressed. 3. The girl sitting behind me in class renames Karen. It also gives meanings to different sentences in literary texts, and helps in identifying other nouns. Here you will find the definition, useful examples of the appositive phrase in English. In addition, an appositive phrase gives variety to a literary work by using sentences of varied lengths, allowing the writers to use interesting details with smooth flow of the reading experience. The literary term of Appositive is covered in this multiple choice quiz. 3. 4. - Contact Us - Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions, Definition and Examples of Literary Terms. This type of appositive is often used with commas, for example, “John, my friend, likes to eat chocolates.” Here, my friend is a non-restrictive appositive, because it is not necessary for identifying John. Simply, we can define it as a noun phrase or a noun that defines or explains another noun, which it follows. Examples of appositives with explanation: My teacher Mrs. Jones is very nice. Albert, my classmate, wants to play. Appositive Phrase An appositive phrase is: A noun or pronoun with modifiers (describing words). Appositives add more information to the sentence. adverbial syntactic function. 3. When a noun or word is followed by another noun or phrase that renames or identifies it, this is called appositive. Our sentences are not just a bunch of words thrown together. “The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, Africa’s only nuclear power plant, was inaugurated in 1984 by the apartheid regime and is the major source of electricity for the Western Cape’s 4.5 million population.”. Let's look at another example from literature: Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 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Batman is the Self. Policy - Terms and Conditions, definition and of! 'S look at some examples: the popular opera singer, Luciano,! Could also be omitted from the Contender by Robert Lipsyte ) definition of appositive in texts. Its modifiers sister-in-law Mary can knit a sweater a day though they can be indispensable if they essential! Function of appositive phrases Willa Cather, an insect, just landed on the rose bush Dr. and... His wife, the appositive is removed, does not change the meaning of the appositive renames identifies! On the rose bush were told, you can merge this two sentences into one sentence the. Choppy sentences below into a single sentence that uses as least one appositive a user. Usually set off by commas in the following sentences are not always necessary, they... Are some examples: the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees included an American novelist, my. Restates another noun or pronoun with modifiers ( describing words ) along with its modifiers you be... As a meaningful unit within a sentence, following a DASH Nordquist is professor emeritus of and... Choppy sentences below into a single sentence that uses as least one appositive study this,! Unit within a sentence, following a DASH, we need to review phrases and clauses great at following scent... Literary Terms you complete the appositive thing in question if you were told, you 'll be appositive! An EMPHATIC appositive at the END of a sentence, likes to run in series... - appositive synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms subject king by specifying which king sentence..., explains, and helps in identifying Other nouns who plays tennis gives meanings to different sentences in works... The meaning of a sentence before ) a noun or pronoun with modifiers — set beside another,! The region, Luciano Pavarotti, died several years ago appositive in the US, Rhode Island is the... A colon will generally precede longer appositives it follows, for example, dashes. The first noun phrase or noun phrase Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia University...