Student Handout
An appositive or appositive phrase is a noun or noun phrase that renames something next to it.
The actor, my brother , will visit the hospital later.
“My brother” is an appositive phrase because it’s in the sentence to rename who the actor is and to give a little
more information. Draw an arrow from “my brother” to “actor.”
Look at this sentence:
The book, a best seller, was made into a movie.
Circle the appositive and draw an arrow to the word it renames.
Now look at this sentence:
The book, a best seller that told the journey of a heroic knight, was made into a movie.
And again, circle the appositive phrase and draw an arrow to the word it renames. If you circled correctly, you’ll
notice that this appositive is much longer! An appositive phrase doesn’t have to be a couple of words. It can be
many words—but it still is renaming what it comes after.
You should also be aware that usually, appositives are set apart from the sentences with some sort of
punctuation, namely commas...but you can occasionally use dashes or parentheses, too.
The book, a best seller, was made into a movie.
The book—a best seller—was made into a movie.
The book (a best seller) was made into a movie.
You can also—but very rarely—use a
colon before an appositive when it’s at
the end of the sentence AND you are
being dramatic.
Let’s look at some more sentences. Circle the appositive phrase and draw I just saw my favorite actor: Ben Affleck!
an arrow to the word it renames.
1. Elizabeth Kinney the actress who plays Beth on The Walking Dead recently gave an interview.
2. She told of working her last day on the set in Georgia the location of most of the show.
3. Elizabeth was happy to play Beth a young farm girl.
4. While working in Georgia, Elizabeth often visited the art museum the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
And sometimes, you’ll even find the appositive at the beginning of the sentence!
5. A singer Beth is ready to start a new chapter in her career.
6. A childhood actor Beth has already been working for ten years.
Challenge: Can you find at least five prepositional phrases in the sentences above? (There are 10 total!) Underline
any you see. Hint: a prepositional phrase can be INSIDE an appositive, and even though you might want to mark
“to play” in sentence #3, it’s actually a different kind of phrase we haven’t studied yet. There are no prepositional
phrases in #3.
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Interactive Notebook page
Appositives and appositive phrases work as nouns in a sentence and renames or
gives more information to a noun next to it. The movie, the blockbuster hit,
opens on Friday.
Appositive phrase are usually separated from the rest of the sentence some sort
of punctuation.
Most of the time, you should use commas to separate an appositive. My grandmother, Helen McClure, performed on stage in college.
Sometimes, however, you can use a dash. My grandmother—Helen McClure—
performed on stage in college.
Sometimes—but not too often—you can use parentheses. My grandmother
(Helen McClure) performed on stage in college.
And sometimes, when feeling particularly dramatic, you can even use a colon
(but use very rarely!) Someone in my family performed on stage in college: my
grandmother.
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Name________________________________
PRACTICE
Identify the appositive phrases in the following sentences by circling them. Draw an arrow to the word
it is renaming.
1. Dwayne Johnson The Rock is an American and Canadian actor.
2. Before he became an actor, he played football for the Calgary Stampeders
a Canadian football team.
3. A professional wrestler like his grandfather Dwayne Johnson tried several
sports before getting involved in acting.
4. In 2000, Johnson published his autobiography The Rock Says.
5. For Johnson’s first movie The Scorpion King he was paid 5.5 million dollars.
Appositive Hunt: In the following passage, identify 6 appositive phrases by circling them.
The Scorpion King is an action film directed by Chuck Russell. Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, plays
Mathayus, the half-brother of Jesup. Mathayus, a brave warrior, goes on a mission to stop Memnon,
the enemy of his people. Several bad things happen to Mathayus on his mission. One time he is buried in
the sand up to his neck and left for fire ants to destroy, but he escapes with the help of Arpid, a horse thief.
Along the way, he meets Cassandra, a sorceress, and they eventually fall in love.
Challenge: There are also 13 prepositional phrases in the above paragraph. Can you find them? (Don’t be fooled by a couple
that LOOK like prepositional phrases but end in a VERB instead of a noun. You’ll be learning those types of phrases SOON!)
Write with Appositives: Here are some appositives; now pick out three and write a sentence for each.
my favorite time of the year
Example: Bella, my fuzzy puppy, likes to sleep on the couch when no one is looking.
an expert cookie maker
1.______________________________________________________________________
a sporty red convertible
_______________________________________________________________________
my fuzzy puppy
_______________________________________________________________________
Missouri
my birthday
2.______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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