Appositives & Appositive Phrases
• An appositive is a noun or
pronoun that identifies or
renames another noun or
pronoun.
• An appositive phrase is made up
of an appositive plus its
modifiers.
• Gail Devers, a champion sprinter, was born
in Seattle in 1966.
• Barcelona, a large city in Spain, hosted the
Olympics in 1992.
Essential Appositives
• An essential appositive is an appositive that
provides information that is needed to identify
the preceding noun or pronoun.
• It is sometimes called a restrictive appositive.
The American sprinter Gail Devers
won an Olympic gold medal in the
100-meter dash in 1992.
• Note that NO COMMAS are needed
with an essential appositive.
Nonessential Appositives
• A nonessential appositive adds
information about a noun or pronoun
in a sentence in which the meaning is
already clear.
• It is also called a nonrestrictive
appositive.
• Nonessential appositives are set off
with commas.
Devers, a survivor of Graves’ disease,
overcame many obstacles to achieve
athletic success.
Let’s Practice …
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Wilma Rudolph, another champion sprinter, also
overcame a disability.
Rudolph was born with the disease polio.
Rudolph, a determined child, ignored doctors’
predictions about never being able to walk again.
A basketball star at age 13, she was known for
her speed.
The coach Edward Temple invited her to a track
camp.
In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-year-old, made the
U.S. Olympic team.
7.
8.
She and three other women, members of the
women’s 400-meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
Four years later, Rudolph achieved her greatest
personal triumph, three gold medals in a single
Olympics.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Wilma Rudolph, another champion sprinter, also
overcame a disability.
Rudolph was born with the disease polio.
Rudolph, a determined child, ignored doctors’
predictions about never being able to walk again.
A basketball star at age 13, she was known for
her speed.
The coach Edward Temple invited her to a track
camp.
In 1956, Rudolph, only a 16-year-old, made the
U.S. Olympic team.
7.
8.
She and three other women, members of the
women’s 400-meter relay team, won a bronze
medal.
Four years later, Rudolph achieved her greatest
personal triumph, three gold medals in a single
Olympics.
Verbals
•
A verbal is a verb form that acts as a _____, an
__________, or an _______. They DO NOT act as the
verb/simple predicate in the sentence.
•
There are three types of verbals:
1. Participles (adjectives)
2. Gerunds (nouns)
3. Infinitives (nouns, adjectives,
and adverbs)
Participial Phrases
Played for more than 100 years, high
school football has a rich tradition.
Large crowds attend games featuring rival
high schools.
• A participle is a verb form that acts as
an adjective.
• There are two kinds: past and present
participles.
• A participial phrase consists of a
participle plus its modifiers.
Some Literary Examples
From Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War:
“The coach looked like an old gangster: broken nose,
a scar on his cheek, a stitched shoestring.”
“Inhaling the sweet sharp apple air through his
nostrils - he was afraid to open his mouth wide,
wary of any movement that was not absolutely
essential –- he walked tentatively toward the
sidelines, listening to the coach barking at the other
guys.”
Let’s Practice …
1.
2.
3.
4.
In many parts of the country, steadily
declining interest has damaged high
school football.
Preferring soccer or basketball, many
students do not sign up for football.
Parents concerned about football injuries
suggest other sports.
Reacting to a lack of interest, school
officials have cut football funds.
5.
Remaining popular in many urban areas,
however, high school football won’t be
dying out anytime soon.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
In many parts of the country, steadily
declining interest has damaged high
school football.
Preferring soccer or basketball, many
students do not sign up for football.
Parents concerned about football injuries
suggest other sports.
Reacting to a lack of interest, school
officials have cut football funds.
5.
Remaining popular in many urban areas,
however, high school football won’t be
dying out anytime soon.
Why It Matters In Writing
• Many writers have trouble placing participial phrases in sentences. Putting words in the wrong
place can result in a ______________ or _____________ phrase that will
confuse the reader. This is often called a dangling participle.
• A misplaced participial phrase is closer to some other _______ than it is to the
_______ it actually modifies.
Beginning in the 1890’s, Thanksgiving Day was when top high school football teams from
different regions paired off in major games.
Responding to changes in the rules of football, the forward pass was used more often in high
school games in the 1920’s.
Make the Needed Corrections
A high school in Colorado had a
homecoming queen who played football. There was
a special ceremony at halftime of the homecoming
game. Queen Katie smiled for the photographers
taking off her helmet. Accepting a white rose, the
crowd loudly cheered. Katie enjoyed the ceremony,
but she was prouder of her performance on the field.
With the game on the line, a field goal sailed
through the goal posts kicked by Katie. During her
four years on the team, Katie played well without
receiving any special
treatment. She was tackled by large opposing
players kicking extra points. Katie was not ready to
give up the game after high school. Determined to
play college football, Katie’s mother gave her full
support.
How Did You Fix These?
A high school in Colorado had a
homecoming queen who played football. There was
a special ceremony at halftime of the homecoming
game. Queen Katie smiled for the photographers
taking off her helmet. Accepting a white rose, the
crowd loudly cheered. Katie enjoyed the ceremony,
but she was prouder of her performance on the field.
With the game on the line, a field goal sailed
through the goal posts kicked by Katie. During her
four years on the team, Katie played well without
receiving any special
treatment. She was tackled by large opposing
players kicking extra points. Katie was not ready to
give up the game after high school. Determined to
play college football, Katie’s mother gave her full
support.
Gerund Phrases
• A gerund is a verb form that ends
in ing and acts as a noun.
• A gerund phrase consists of a
gerund plus its modifiers.
She loves swimming.
She loves swimming in the ocean.
Next morning, when it was time for the
routine of swimming and sunbathing, his
mother said, “Are you tired of the usual beach,
Jerry? Would you like to go somewhere else?”
- Doris Lessing, “Through the Tunnel”
Functions of Gerund Phrases
Subject
Swimming competitively requires lots of
practice.
Object of a Preposition
Jeff got in shape by swimming at the
YMCA.
Direct Object
Mr. Kroesche coaches high school
swimming.
Indirect Object
Tamera gave competitive swimming a
try.
Predicate Nominative
Tamera’s specialty is swimming the
backstroke.
Let’s Practice …
3.
4.
1.
2.
Pablo Morales became known as the
comeback kid of Olympic swimming.
One of the goals of Morales’ mother was
having her children learn to swim at an early
age.
5.
6.
Morales learned quickly, and soon he
started winning junior championships.
Competing in the 1984 Olympics brought
him one gold medal and two silver medals.
Morales surprised everyone by failing to
qualify in 1988.
He touched people’s hearts by making a
comeback and winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the 1992 Olympics.
How Did You Do?
3.
4.
1.
2.
Pablo Morales became known as the
comeback kid of Olympic swimming.
One of the goals of Morales’ mother was
having her children learn to swim at an early
age.
5.
6.
Morales learned quickly, and soon he
started winning junior championships.
Competing in the 1984 Olympics brought
him one gold medal and two silver medals.
Morales surprised everyone by failing to
qualify in 1988.
He touched people’s hearts by making a
comeback and winning a gold medal in the
100-meter butterfly in the 1992 Olympics.
Infinitive Phrases
• And we’re finally back to Shakespeare, “To
be or not to be, that is the question.”
• An infinitive is a verb form, usually
beginning with the word to, that can act as
a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
• An infinitive phrase consists of an
infinitive plus its modifiers and
complements.
Uses of Infinitive Phrases
Noun
To win tournaments on the Ladies Professional
Golf Association (LPGA) tour is the goal of top
women golfers.
Adjective
In 1998, Se Ri Pak became the youngest player
to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf
championship.
Adverb
To become a champion golfer, Pak spent many
hours practicing in her native land of South
Korea.
Let’s Practice …
1.
2.
3.
4.
Woods is determined to help other persons of
color become golf stars.
To turn his dreams into reality, he founded a
charitable organization, the Tiger Woods
Foundation in 1997.
Tiger Woods was the first person of AfricanAmerican descent to win a major tournament
in men’s professional golf.
To overcome golf’s history of
discrimination was no easy task.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Woods is determined to help other persons of
color become golf stars.
To turn his dreams into reality, he founded a
charitable organization, the Tiger Woods
Foundation, in 1997.
Tiger Woods was the first person of AfricanAmerican descent to win a major tournament
in men’s professional golf.
To overcome golf’s history of discrimination
was no easy task.
Why It Matters In Writing
• Using infinitive phrases, you can
combine sentences in a way that
eliminates unnecessary words and
sharpens the relationship between
ideas.
Try Combining These …
1.
2.
3.
4.
Golfers use many different types of clubs during a tournament.
Different clubs are needed to hit good shots.
Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill. He has won the U.S. Open
three times.
Hale Irwin must have amazing physical endurance. He has won
tournaments for 30 years.
He had weeks of outstanding play on the Senior Tour. He earned
nearly $3 million in one year.
How Did You Do?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Golfers use many different types of clubs to hit good shots during a
tournament.
Hale Irwin has displayed incredible skill to win the U.S. Open three
times.
Hale Irwin must have amazing physical endurance to win tournaments
for 30 years.
He had weeks of outstanding play on the Senior Tour to earn nearly $3
million in one year.
Be careful …
• It is easy to confuse infinitives with
prepositional phrases, since both can begin
with to.
• Remember that an infinitive is to + a
verb;
a prepositional phrase is to +
an object (noun or pronoun).
She wanted to eat some delicious ice
cream, so she went to the grocery store.
Let’s Practice …
1.
The students were excited to work
on their group project.
2.
They walked to the library so they
could complete their research.
3.
While there, they were able to divide
up the work evenly.
4.
They later returned to their homes to
complete the work.
5.
They finally presented their project to
the class.
How Did You Do?
1.
The students were excited to work
on their group project.
2.
They walked to the library so they
could complete their research.
3.
While there, they were able to divide
up the work evenly.
4.
They later returned to their homes to
complete the work.
5.
They finally presented their project to
the class.