Appositives and Appositive Phrases

are nouns that usually follow and rename or describe another noun.

• Erin, my friend,

• Jeevan's bulldog, Fido,

• everyone's favorite class, ELA.

• Our school​, CYMS, ​

*Literally 100% of the time.

*Usually, it is the word RIGHT IN FRONT of the appositive.

are appositives with all of their modifiers. They are noun phrases.

• Suzanne, my best friend in the whole world,

• The Golden Gate Bridge, the bridge that connects San Francisco​ and Marin County,

• Amanda, my youngest and most evil cousin,

• my pet cat, the one who climbs trees,​

• subject                                                            

• predicate noun (found after linking verbs-am, is, are, was, were, be)

• direct object (found after action verbs)    

• object of preposition (found after prepositions)

What does an appositive look like in a sentence? Let's look at a sentence and see if we can figure it out.

Where is the appositive?

• It immediately follows the noun it identifies (Nosferatu).

• The noun that the appositive explains functions as the subject of the sentence.

• It is separated by COMMAS.

• The commas show that the appositive is extra information. We don't need it, but it makes our sentences sound better.

Sister, a noun that can refer to many, many females, requires the clarification that the appositive Loretta provides.

• Appositives identify or explain a noun. They offer more information.

• They ALWAYS, 100% OF THE TIME follow the noun they identify or explain.

• Essential appositives (readers need the information to distinguish which one of many the writer means) do not require punctuation.