Appositives
By: Dareece & Tiffany
What are Appositives?
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Appositives are nouns or noun phrases that tell you something about a
nearby noun or pronoun.
Ex: The nerdy boy next door, Michael, always did his homework two days
before it was due.
In this example Michael is the appositive and the nerdy boy next door is
what the appositive details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg9eNuRJ89s
More ExamplesHighlight: the appositive, Underline: The noun/pronoun that emphasizes the appositive
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It turned out that one of the top students, Denny Davis, had learned of this rule. ~
Margaret Talbot
Mrs. Franks class, the class at the end of the hall, was the most boring class ever.
When George’s mother, Mrs. Lemons, heard a noise in the fridge, George knew he
was in trouble.
Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, was in 1997 the
principal of Sarasota High School~ Margaret Talbot
In 1981, two professors...began following the lives eighty-one-high-school
valedictorians - forty-six women and thirty-five men from Illinois. ~ Margaret Talbot
Punctuation and Appositives
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1.
Three ways you can set off an appositive:
You can use one or two commas
a.
The principal of Sarasota High School in 1997 was Daniel Kennedy, a wiry
fifty-nine-year-old
b.
Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, was in 1997 the principal of
Sarasota High School. “ ~ Margaret Talbot
2. You can use one or two dashesa.
3.
a.
“Japanese people have to make many of the big decision of their lives- whom to marry, what
company to join- without detailed information.” ~ Kyoko Mori
You can use a colonWe were given plenty of instruction about the specifics of writings: word choice, description, style. ~ Kyoko
Mori
Position of Appositives
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Noun- a person, place, or thing
Pronoun- words such as, “ I, he, she, you, it, we and they,” that used as
placement of a noun or a noun phrase.
Appositives can go before or after a noun or pronoun, whichever you
choose it must have a stylistic choice, but are more likely to be used in a
middle of a sentence.
The businessman, Todd, had arrangements to make.
Or
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Todd, the businessman, had arrangements to make.
Which one sounds better? Why?
Rhetorical and Stylistic Strategy
An appositive serves two rhetorical and stylistic functions
1)
To clarify a term by providing a proper noun or a synonym for the term,
by defining or explaining the term, or by getting more specific
2)
Examples:
“Its hero is Scout's father, the saintly Atticus Finch,” ~ Francine Prose
“...an automaton, a machine, can be made to keep a school so,” Ralph Waldo Emerson
First published in 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is what we have since learned to
recognize as a “survivor” memoir- a first-person narrative of victimization and recovery,” ~
Francine Prose
“One might suppose that teenagers might enjoy the transformative science-fiction of The
Metamorphosis, a story about a young man so alienated from his “dysfunctional” family that he
turns...into a giant beetle,” ~ Francine Prose
“Yet in other - fiction and memoir- the news is far more upsetting,” ~ Francine Prose
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Rhetorical and Stylistic Strategy #2
2) Smooth- choppy writing
Examples○
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“Its hero is Scout's father. His name is Atticus Finch. He is saintly”
“An automaton is a machine. An automaton can be made to keep a school so.”
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“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings was first published in 1970. It is what we have since
learned to recognize as as ‘survivor’ memoir. A ‘survivor’ memoir is a first-person
narrative. The narrative deals with victimization and recovery.”
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“One might suppose that teenagers might enjoy the transformative science-fiction
aspects of The Metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis is a story about young man.”
“Yet in other genres the news is far more upsetting. Other genres are fiction and memoir.”
Practice Questions
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Todd, the boy next door, asked to borrow a cup of sugar from my mom.
Lysol, a disinfectant spray, kills 99.9% of germs
Halloween, a time where you get all the candy you want, is quickly approaching.
My dog, Oreo, is sleeping on the stairs.
The teacher, Mr. Bryan, gives pointless homework.
The dvd player, an old gray dusty box, never turns on the first try.
My blankets, a purple and white soft fabric, keep me warm at night.
The mailman, Mr. White, ran away from the town dog.
The school bus, a yellow and black ugly bus, comes at the same time every day.
Stewart, the annoying kid in the back of the class, fell asleep and got drool
everywhere.
Practice Questions Answers1)
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Todd, the boy next door, asked to borrow a cup of sugar from my mom.
Lysol, a disinfectant spray, kills 99.9% of germs
Halloween, a time where you get all the candy you want, is quickly approaching.
My dog, Oreo, is sleeping on the stairs.
The teacher, Mr. Bryan, gives pointless homework.
The dvd player, an old gray dusty box, never turns on the first try.
My blankets, a purple and white soft fabric, keep me warm at night.
The mailman, Mr. White, ran away from the town dog.
The school bus, a yellow and black ugly bus, comes at the same time every day.
Stewart, the annoying kid in the back of the class, fell asleep and got drool
everywhere.
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Shea, Renée Hausmann., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin. Aufses. The
Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Boston, MA:
Bedford / St. Martins, 2008. Print.