Name:______________________________________________________ Date:_________________________________ Hour:____________
BE POSITIVE ABOUT APPOSITIVES
An appositive is a phrase that follows a noun or pronoun, and that identifies or adds details to the
sentence.
Example:
You could say: Washington was a great statesman. Our first president was a great statesman.
Or, you could write these sentences using an appositive phrase:
Washington, our first president, was a great statesman.
or
Our first president, Washington, was a great statesman.
Either way, the sentences that include details from appositives are better.
PROCEDURE
Instructions: Combine each set of short sentences into a better one by using an
appositive. Then underline the appositive in your new sentence.
Example: Mr. Choo lives next door to me. He is the man riding a bicycle in the rain.
Combine to: Mr. Choo, the man riding a bicycle in the rain, lives next door to me.
1. The dolphin is a gentle mammal. The dolphin can be taught to jump through a hoop.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. The space shuttle is named Columbia. It has made five trips into space.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. My teacher is Mrs. Rivera. She showed us pictures of her trip to the Grand Canyon.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Sam is the local fire chief. Yesterday, he saved a little girl from a house fire.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Now combine three sentences into ONE interesting one, using an appositive.
Jamie is my cousin. Jamie lives in Hawaii. She works on a pineapple plantation.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. My family went to Hersey Park. Hersey Park is an amusement park. It is located an hour from my
home.
Combine to: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Challenge: Writing Sentences with Appositives. Use the following words or phrases as appositives in
sentences that you create.
Example -- a wonderful speaker
Sentence: Keith Jackson, a wonderful speaker, made quite an impression on the crowd.
7. a terrific teacher___________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. my favorite team___________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. my best friend___________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. a luscious dessert ________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. a fascinating book _______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. an ugly cockroach with hairy legs______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________