An appositive is a word
or group of words that identifies or renames another word in a sentence.
Appositive constructions offer concise ways of describing or defining a person,
place, or thing. Here we'll practice building sentences with these economical
structures.
A.
From Adjective
Clauses to Appositives
Like an adjective
clause, an appositive provides more information about a noun. In fact, we may
think of an appositive as a simplified adjective clause. Consider, for example,
how the following two sentences can be combined:
·
Jimbo Gold is a professional magician.
·
Jimbo Gold performed at my sister's birthday party.
One way to combine these
sentences is to turn the first sentence into an adjective clause:
Jimbo Gold, who is a
professional magician, performed at my sister's birthday party.
We also have the option of
reducing the adjective clause in this sentence to an appositive. All that we
need to do is omit the pronoun who and the verb is:
Jimbo Gold, a professional
magician, performed at my sister's birthday party.
The appositive a
professional magician serves to identify the subject, Jimbo Gold.
Reducing an adjective clause to an appositive is one way to cut the clutter
in our writing.
However, not all adjective clauses can be
shortened to appositives in this fashion--only those that contain a form of the
verb to be (is, are, was, were).
B.
Arranging Appositives
An appositive most often appears directly
after the noun it identifies or renames:
Arizona Bill, "The
Great Benefactor of Mankind," toured Oklahoma with herbal cures and a powerful
liniment.
Note that this appositive,
like most, could be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence.
In other words, it's nonrestrictive
and needs to be set off with a pair of commas.
Occasionally, an appositive may appear in
front of a word that it identifies:
A dark wedge, the
eagle hurtled earthward at nearly 200 miles per hour.
An appositive at the
beginning of a sentence is usually followed by a comma.
In each of the examples seen so far, the
appositive has referred to the subject of the
sentence. However, an appositive may appear before or after any noun in
a sentence. In the following example, the appositive refers to roles,
the object of a
preposition:
People are summed up largely
by the roles they fill in society--wife or husband, soldier or salesperson,
student or scientist--and by the qualities that others ascribe to them.
This sentence demonstrates a
different way of punctuating appositives--with dashes. When the
appositive itself contains commas, setting off the construction with dashes
helps to prevent confusion. Using dashes instead of commas also serves to
emphasize the appositive.
Placing an appositive at the very end of
a sentence is another way to give it special emphasis. Compare
these two sentences:
At the far end of the
pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen--a white-tailed deer--was
cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block.
At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block--a white-tailed deer.
At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block--a white-tailed deer.
Whereas the appositive merely
interrupts the first sentence, it marks the climax of sentence two.
C.
Punctuating Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Appositives
As we've seen, most appositives are nonrestrictive--that
is, the information that they add to a sentence is not essential for the
sentence to make sense. Nonrestrictive appositives are set off by commas or
dashes.
A restrictive appositive (like a restrictive
adjective clause) is one that cannot be omitted from a sentence without
affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. A restrictive appositive should not
be set off by commas:
John-Boy's sister Mary
Ellen became a nurse after their brother Ben took a job at a lumber
mill.
Because John-Boy has multiple
sisters and brothers, the two restrictive appositives make clear which
sister and which brother the writer is talking about. In other words,
the two appositives are restrictive, and so they are not set off by commas.
D.
Four Variations
1. Appositives that Repeat a Noun
Although an appositive usually renames a noun in a sentence, it may instead repeat a noun for the sake of clarity and emphasis:
Although an appositive usually renames a noun in a sentence, it may instead repeat a noun for the sake of clarity and emphasis:
In America, as in anywhere else in the
world, we must find a focus in our lives at an early age, a focus
that is beyond the mechanics of earning a living or coping with a household.
(Santha Rama Rau, "An invitation to Serenity")
(Santha Rama Rau, "An invitation to Serenity")
Notice that the appositive in
this sentence is modified by an adjective
clause. Adjectives,
prepositional
phrases, and adjective
clauses (in other words, all of the structures that can modify a noun) are
often used to add details to an appositive.
2. Negative Appositives
Most appositives identify what someone or something is, but there are also negative appositives that identify what someone or something is not:
Most appositives identify what someone or something is, but there are also negative appositives that identify what someone or something is not:
Line managers and production
employees, rather than staff specialists, are primarily responsible for
quality assurance.
Negative appositives begin
with a word such as not, never, or rather than.
3. Multiple Appositives
Two, three, or even more appositives may appear alongside the same noun:
Two, three, or even more appositives may appear alongside the same noun:
Saint
Petersburg, a city of almost five-million people, Russia's
second-largest and northernmost metropolis, was designed three centuries
ago by Peter the Great.
As long as we don't overwhelm
the reader with too much information at one time, a double or triple appositive
can be an effective way of adding supplementary details to a sentence.
4. List Appositives with Pronouns
A final variation is the list appositive that precedes a pronoun such as all or these or everyone:
A final variation is the list appositive that precedes a pronoun such as all or these or everyone:
Streets of yellow row houses,
the ochre plaster walls of old churches, the crumbling sea-green mansions now
occupied by government offices--all seem
in sharper focus, with their defects hidden by the snow.
(Leona P. Schecter, "Moscow")
(Leona P. Schecter, "Moscow")
The word all is not
essential to the meaning of the sentence: the opening list could serve by
itself as the subject. However, the pronoun helps to clarify the subject by
drawing the items together before the sentence goes on to make a point about
them.
If you have read Building
Sentences with Appositives and Practice
in Using Appositives, you should be well prepared for these sentence
combining exercises. Tip: click on the "Print this page" link (in the
box on the right) to see the exercises without any ads to distract you.
Combine the sentences in each set below
into a single clear sentence with at least one appositive. Omit words that are
needlessly repeated, but don't leave out any important details. If you run into
problems, you may find it helpful to review the following pages:
When you are done, compare
your new sentences with the sample combinations at the bottom of this page.
Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases you may
prefer your own sentences to the original versions.
1.
St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers.
St. Valentine was never married.
St. Valentine was never married.
2.
Monroe and I strolled through the graveyard.
The graveyard is the most peaceful spot in town.
The graveyard is the most peaceful spot in town.
3.
We were waiting outside the prison cells.
The cells were a row of sheds fronted with double bars.
The cells were like small animal cages.
The cells were a row of sheds fronted with double bars.
The cells were like small animal cages.
4.
My father was outside.
My father was beneath the window.
My father whistled for Reggie.
Reggie was our English setter.
My father was beneath the window.
My father whistled for Reggie.
Reggie was our English setter.
5.
We saw the stream in the valley.
The stream was black.
The stream was halted.
The stream was a tarred path through the wilderness.
The stream was black.
The stream was halted.
The stream was a tarred path through the wilderness.
6.
We arrived at a group of peasant houses.
The group was small.
The houses were low yellow constructions.
The houses had dried-mud walls.
The houses had straw mats.
The group was small.
The houses were low yellow constructions.
The houses had dried-mud walls.
The houses had straw mats.
7.
A great many old people came.
They knelt around us.
They prayed.
They included old women with jet-black faces.
The women had braided hair.
They included old men with work-gnarled hands.
They knelt around us.
They prayed.
They included old women with jet-black faces.
The women had braided hair.
They included old men with work-gnarled hands.
8.
One of the Cratchet girls had borrowed the books.
She was a hatchet-faced girl.
She was thin.
She was eager.
She was a transplanted Cockney.
She had a frenzy for reading.
She was a hatchet-faced girl.
She was thin.
She was eager.
She was a transplanted Cockney.
She had a frenzy for reading.
9.
It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust.
It was a place filled with laughter.
It was filled with play.
It was filled with pain.
It was filled with hurt.
It was filled with ghosts.
It was filled with games.
It was a place filled with laughter.
It was filled with play.
It was filled with pain.
It was filled with hurt.
It was filled with ghosts.
It was filled with games.
10.
I led a raid on the grocery.
It was the grocery of Barba Nikos.
The grocery was small.
The grocery was shabby.
Barba Nikos was old.
Barba Nikos was short.
Barba Nikos was sinewy.
Barba Nikos was a Greek.
Barba Nikos walked with a slight limp.
Barba Nikos sported a flaring handlebar moustache.
It was the grocery of Barba Nikos.
The grocery was small.
The grocery was shabby.
Barba Nikos was old.
Barba Nikos was short.
Barba Nikos was sinewy.
Barba Nikos was a Greek.
Barba Nikos walked with a slight limp.
Barba Nikos sported a flaring handlebar moustache.
Sample Combinations:
1.
St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, was never married.
2.
Monroe and I strolled through the graveyard, the most peaceful
spot in town.
3.
We were waiting outside the prison cells, a row of sheds fronted
with double bars, like small animal cages.
(George Orwell, "A Hanging")
(George Orwell, "A Hanging")
4.
Outside beneath my window, my father whistled for Reggie, our
English setter.
5.
We saw the stream in the valley, black and halted, a tarred path
through the wilderness.
(Laurie Lee, "Winter and Summer")
(Laurie Lee, "Winter and Summer")
6.
We arrived at a small group of peasant houses, low yellow
constructions with dried-mud walls and straw roofs.
(Alberto Moravia, Lobster Land: A Traveler in China)
(Alberto Moravia, Lobster Land: A Traveler in China)
7.
A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old
women with jet-black faces and old men with work-gnarled hands.
(Langston Hughes, "Salvation")
(Langston Hughes, "Salvation")
8.
One of the Cratchet girls had borrowed the books, a
hatchet-faced, thin, eager, transplanted Cockney girl with a frenzy for
reading.
(Wallace Stegner, Wolf Willow)
(Wallace Stegner, Wolf Willow)
9.
It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust, a place
filled with laughter and play and pain and hurt and ghosts and games.
(Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream)
(Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream)
10.
I led a raid on the small, shabby grocery of Barba Nikos, a
short sinewy Greek who walked with a slight limp and sported a flaring,
handlebar moustache.
Ci
