APPOSITIVES
An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames the noun
or pronoun that it follows. It is set off by commas unless closely tied to the
word that it identifies or renames. ("Closely tied" means that it is needed to
identify the word.)
Examples: My son Carl is a medical technician. (no commas) Badger, our dog
with a missing leg, has a love for cats. (commas needed)
Appositives should not be confused with predicate nominatives. A verb will separate the subject from the
predicate nominative. An appositive can follow any noun or pronoun including the subject, direct object, or
predicate nominative.
DIRECTIONS:
Identify the appositives in the following sentences and tell whether they are appositives to subjects, direct
objects, or predicate nominatives.
1. The neighbor boys, the twins, were excellent baseball players.
2. The girl in the red dress is Sarah, our best actress.
3. Have you read Brothers, a book by Dean Hughes?
4. There goes Grant Long, the electrical contractor.
5. My friend, Matt Matson, collects lost hubcaps.
Appositives should not be confused with predicate nominatives. A verb will separate the subject from the
predicate nominative. An appositive can follow any noun or pronoun including the subject, direct object, or
predicate nominative.
DIRECTIONS:
Identify the appositives in the following sentences and tell whether they are appositives to subjects, direct
objects, or predicate nominatives.
1. My brother Bill has a cabin in the mountains.
2. Friday, my birthday, will be the thirteenth.
3. Hopping on the fence was a rare bird, the cedar waxwing.
4. This is Fred, an old roommate of mine.
5. Have you seen my car, an old Rambler.
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Appositives may be compound
Example: The two children, Wendy and Sam, are excellent students.
PERSONAL
LABEL/TITLE
FINISH THE SENTENCE
Jim, a recent graduate of Quakertown and a bird watcher, loves to learn.
DIRECTIONS:
Identify the appositives in the following sentences and tell whether they are appositives to subjects, direct
objects, or predicate nominatives.
1. Our leading scorer is Michael, the center and captain of the team.
2. These two students, Kay and Eric, are new to our school.
3. The doctor helped two patients, the boy with the broken leg and the girl with a burned arm.
4. Our neighbors, the Smiths and the Fehers, are moving next week.
5. James loves two games, checkers and chess.
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ONE SENTENCE FROM TWO
You can make one smooth sentence from two short, choppy sentences by using an appositive. Example: Ila
won the prize. It was a trip to Hawaii. Ila won the prize, a trip to Hawaii.
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the following sentences by using an appositive.
1. Yesterday I saw an exciting movie. It was called Goldeneye.
2. Mr. Jones will be with you shortly. He is the plant manager.
3. That woman is my neighbor. She is a well-known author.
4. Luis can do almost anything. He is a talented person.
5. Do you want to meet Barbara Jean? She is my lab assistant.
Answers
1. Yesterday I saw an exciting movie, Goldeneye. / Yesterday I saw Goldeneye, an exciting movie.
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the following sentences by using an appositive.
1. Sonja sits beside me in English class. She is a girl from Poland.
2. There goes David. He is the owner of many businesses.
3. For dinner we had my favorite desserts. We had strawberry pie and cherry nut cake.
4. Last night I talked with Leon. He is my neighbor. He is my business partner.
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APPOSITIVES QUIZ #1
NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
DIRECTIONS:
_______/21 POINTS
CIRCLE THE APPOSITIVES in sentences 1-5 below. (5 POINTS)
1. Rome, the capital of Italy, is a large city.
2. Have you ever visited Lagoon, our biggest amusement park?
3. The woman with the hat, the viola player, is my sister-in-law.
4. Those women are Elaine and Marilyn, my two sisters.
5. Mr. Gayle, our sponsor, will show you around.
Combine sentences 6-10 by using an appositive. (10 POINTS)
6. Mrs. Karren is greeting the guests. They are possible buyers.
7. Have you met our new foreman? He is the tall man in the coveralls.
8. Watch out for Main Street. It is a very slick road.
9. The Lewises provided the entertainment. They showed home movies.
10. The cargo was precious. It was gold and silver.
Define what an appositive is in your own words and explain what clues help
you identify it in a sentence. (4 POINTS)
11.
DEFINITION OF AN APPOSITIVE
_________________________________________________________________________________
CLUES TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY ONE
_________________________________________________________________________________
Write an example of a COMPOUND appositive about yourself in the space below.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
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APPOSITIVES QUIZ ANSWERS
1. capital = appositive to the subject, Rome
2. amusement park = appositive to direct object, Lagoon
3. player = appositive to subject, woman
4. sisters = appositive to predicate nominatives. Elaine/Marilyn
5. sponsor = appositive to subject, Mr. Gayle
6. Mrs. Karren is greeting the guests, possible buyers.
7. Have you met our new foreman, the tall man in the coveralls.
8. Watch out for Main Street, a very slick road.
9. The Lewises provided the entertainment, home movies.
10. The cargo, gold and silver, looked precious.
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APPOSITIVES QUIZ #2
NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
QUESTION 1 (2 POINTS)
1. Explain in your own words what exactly an appositive is and how it’s used. (2 POINTS)
_______/39 POINTS
DIRECTIONS: Identify the appositives in the following sentences, and then underline the word they
restate. Finally, tell whether the initial or first word that gets restated is an appositive to
subjects (S), direct objects (DO), or predicate nominatives (PN).
----- (11 POINTS)
2. Quakertown, the capital of Coolville, is a medium-sized city. (2 POINTS)
3. Have you ever visited Lansdale, our biggest neighbor? (2 POINTS)
4. The dude with the Goat-T, the guitar player, is my brother-in-law. (2 POINTS)
5. Those women are Elaine and Marilyn, my two grandmothers. (3 POINTS)
6. Mr. Whipple, our sponsor, will show you the ropes. (2 POINTS)
RE-WRITE AND Combine the following sentences by using an appositive.
7. Mrs. Dafodil is patting down the guests. They are possible thieves.
(15 POINTS)
8. Have you met our new puppy? He is the shaggy beast in the Superman coat.
9. Watch out for Mr. Huebner. He is a genius of unparalleled greatness.
10. The Johnsons hired a band. The members of that family are experts in local music.
11. The ingredients were precious. They were flour and water.
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DIRECTIONS: Rewrite the following sentences into one sentence by
using an appositive and by eliminating weak verbs.
---- (12 POINTS)
12. John loves to play basketball. He is a guard on the Quakertown varsity team.
13. I love going to the park. The park is called The Funjoy Center. I love skating at the park.
14. Cindy showed me the new movie about the Syracuse football player. His name was Ernie Davis.
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