Most people are sure they have heard the term appositive at some point in their school life, but probably forgot about them once done with middle school. Well, worry no more.
While you may not know what appositive phrases are, you’ll be surprised to learn that you use them frequently in your sentences all the time. Before we can jump into writing appositive phrases let’s first juggle your memory on what an appositive is.
What is an appositive?
It is a noun, noun phrase or clause placed next to another noun or pronoun to provide additional essential information about the noun. This noun is said to be in apposition to the other noun that it renames. An appositive can come before or after the main noun and it can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, as long as it sits beside the noun it defines.
Here are a few examples of appositives.
My son Austin is a genius.
(Here, Austin is the appositive describing the noun son.)
Sir Attenborough, a natural historian, is an advocate for clean energy.
(Here, the appositive phrase a natural historian provides additional information about the noun Sir Attenborough.)
What is an appositive phrase?
An appositive phrase is a collection of words – mostly nouns with modifiers – placed next to a noun word or phrase to provide more information about it. As a noun phrase, an appositive does not have a subject or predicate and is not a complete thought.
This group of words can be short or long. Besides, you can use an appositive phrase before or after the noun it describes.
Look at the following examples. The appositive phrases are highlighted in bold.
A creative midfielder, Laudrup is regarded as one of the best football players.
(The phrase precedes the noun Laudrup).
Genghis Khan, the first Mongolian emperor, was a genius ruler and warrior between 1206 and 1227.
(In this case, the appositive describes another noun -Genghis Khan)
A quick check at the examples shows that both single word appositives and appositive phrases are separated from the main noun using a comma. This shows that they are non-essential appositives.
Let’s look at the types of appositives; Restrictive (Essential) and Non-restrictive (Non- Essential) appositive.
1.Restrictive appositive:
This is a word or phrase that provides information that is essential for the identification of a noun. Without this element, the meaning of the sentence is altered. Restrictive appositives are not framed using a comma.
Check out these examples;
My dog Tucker likes snoozing. – correct
My dog, Tucker, likes snoozing. – incorrect
In this example, Tucker is an essential phrase describing my dog. The lack of commas shows that I have many dogs but the only one that likes a cuddle is Tucker.
Bill Gates, the techpreneur, is an almost entirely different person than Bill Gates, the philanthropist. – incorrect
Bill Gates the techpreneur is an almost entirely different person than Bill Gates the philanthropist. – correct
Notice how writing the sentence without the phrases lacks clarity. Bill Gates is an almost entirely different person than Bill Gates. Makes no sense, right?
This shows that the clauses the techpreneur and the philanthropist are essential to understanding the qualities of Bill Gates, that’s why we don’t put commas around the appositives.
2.Non-restrictive appositive:
Most appositive noun phrases are nonessential. This means you can omit them without making the sentence unclear.
When writing these clauses, bookend them with commas if they are in the middle of the sentence. You can place one comma before and one after the appositive when writing the phrase.
If this appositive is at the end of the sentence, it is good practice to use the comma at the beginning of the phrase.
On the other hand, if the appositive appears at the beginning of the sentence, add a comma at the end of the phrase.
Here are a few examples;
1. Shearer, the Newcastle United forward, is the all-time leading goalscorer in the premier league.
Here the appositive phrase appears in the middle. We put commas around the appositive since this information that is not necessary. We can remove the phrase and the sentence remains clear. This sentence will be, Alan Shearer is the all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League.
2. A great writer and director, Christopher Nolan has produced multiple highly rated films.
In this case, the phrase is at the beginning; hence when writing we put the comma at the end. This appositive phrase is non-restrictive since the sentence still makes sense when we remove this additional information. It will read, Christopher Nolan has produced multiple highly rated films.
3. My son’s favorite TV program is Spongebob Squarepants, a cartoon character.
The appositive phrase a cartoon character has a comma at the beginning since it appears at the end of the sentence. Besides, it is not necessary. You can easily remove it without altering the clarity of the sentence. It’ll be, My son’s favorite TV program is Spongebob Squarepants.
Spotting an appositive noun phrase
While it can be confusing to identify an essential appositive phrase in a sentence, there is a list of specific words commonly used to start an appositive phrase. Moreover, you can use these words when writing sentences containing appositive phrases or appositions.
Words that start appositive phrases
1. Such as – Graduates from universities such as Oxford and Cambridge tend to be quite influential.
2. In other words – The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many furloughs, in other words ‘layoffs’, around the country.
3. Including – Most developed countries, including the US and England, are installing the 5G network.
4. For example – Supercars made in Italy, for example, Lamborgini and Ferrari, are quite luxurious.
5. A/An/The – A great producer and writer, Stan Lee is one of Hollywood’s legends.
- The talented actor Leonardo DiCapri finally won an Oscar.
- An impeccable writer, Andrew McMahon marked all his first works with rights reserved due to copyright laws.
These words will help you improve the flow of your writing, while also making your sentences more descriptive.
Essential and non-essential appositives
Here are more examples of both essential and non-essential appositives;
Polymath Leonardo DaVinci was born in Florence -Essential appositive phrase
Leonardo Da Vinci, a polymath, was born in Florence – Non-essential appositive phrase
The English club Arsenal is one of the major clubs in the country. – Essential appositive
Arsenal, an English club, is one of the major clubs in the country. – Non-essential appositive
The Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with the rise of western civilization. – Essential appositive phrase
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, is credited to the rise of western civilization. – Non-essential appositive phrase
Sharpen your appositive phrase writing skills
Underline the appositive phrase (if any), add any commas if necessary and indicate if it’s restrictive or non-restrictive
- Discipline is a critical aspect of success in any sport success that makes dreams come true.
- My friend Jennifer Aniston is quite the actress.
- Police dogs are great at following a scent.
- The writing was on the wall for the dictator general Aladeen.
- My dog Tucker is yet to be housetrained.
- Lionel Messi the short Barca player is a magician.
- Angela the girl with long hair is always in the mirror.
- J. K. Rowling a British author is writing another Harry Porter title.
- We had lunch at the local hotel Gosforth Park.
- What happened to your car the Red Cadillac?
- My son the eldest one can’t stop playing video games.
- In the sequel she renames her cat as kitty.
- I was writing an essay impact of racism in universities when the phone rang.
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