Writing with Detail Appositive Phrases

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Writing with DetailAppositive Phrases
Placing appositive phrases Complex appositive
phrases Creating appositive phrases Review
A Review B
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Placing appositive phrases
Writers often add detail by using appositives.
An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed beside
another noun or pronoun to identify or describe
it.
We read about the Roman poet
Virgil.
We read about the Roman poet
An appositive phrase consists of an appositive
and any of its modifiers.
We read about Virgil,
the celebrated Roman poet.
We read about Virgil,
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Placing appositive phrases
As in math, an appositive shows what a noun or
pronoun equals.
Grammar Guy Says...
We read about the Roman poet Virgil.

poet
Virgil
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Placing appositive phrases
Usually an appositive or appositive phrase is
placed right after the word it modifies.
The monarch butterfly, an autumn migrant,
flutters south at summers end.
The focus in this sentence is on the monarch
butterfly, not its migration pattern.
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Placing appositive phrases
Placing the appositive at the beginning of the
phrase changes the focus of the sentence.
An autumn migrant, the monarch butterfly flutters
south at summers end.
Now the focus is on the monarchs autumn
migration pattern.
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Complex appositive phrases
Even though an appositive phrase can be quite
long, it functions as a single noun.
The rowan, one of two known American varieties of
mountain ash, was once thought to ward off evil
spirits.
The rowan, a tree, was once thought to ward off
evil spirits.
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Complex appositive phrases
Complex appositive phrases may include a
subordinate clause that contains a subject and a
verb, but the entire phrase still acts as a noun.
September, a magic month, sends up flames of
color in goldenrod, marigolds, zinnias, and sumac.
September, a magic month when summer is slow to
leave, sends up flames of color in goldenrod,
marigolds, zinnias, and sumac.
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Complex appositive phrases
A clause is a group of words that contains a verb
and its subject and is used as part of a
sentence.
Subject
Verb
Part of a Sentence
the rain fell
the rain fell
the rain fell
The earth was cracked, but the rain fell.
A subordinate clause (or dependent clause) does
not express a complete thought and cannot stand
by itself as a sentence.
Before the rain fell, the earth was cracked.
before the rain fell
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Identifying appositives
Identify the appositive or appositive phrase in
each of the following sentences.
1. Above the bay was a small city, Cliffton.
2. A true friend, Bart let us stay at his house.
3. The dance, a strange combination of arm
movements and ducking motions, seems to have
caught on.
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Identifying appositives
Identify the appositive or appositive phrase in
each of the following sentences.
1. Above the bay was a small city, Cliffton.
Cliffton identifies city. It is set off with a
comma because it is not essential to the meaning
of the sentence. (There is only one city above
the bay, so the name Cliffton does not
distinguish one city from another.)
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Identifying appositives
Identify the appositive or appositive phrase in
each of the following sentences.
2. A true friend, Bart let us stay at his house.
The appositive phrase A true friend comes at
the beginning of the sentence and identifies
Bart. A comma separates the phrase from the rest
of the sentence.
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Identifying appositives
Identify the appositive or appositive phrase in
each of the following sentences.
3. The dance, a strange combination of arm
movements and ducking motions, seems to have
caught on.
The appositive phrase a strange combination of
arm movements and ducking motions renames dance.
It is set off with commas both before and after
because it is not essential to the meaning of the
sentence.
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Creating appositive phrases
Appositive phrases can be formed from
existingsentences. To create an appositive
phrase . . .
1. Identify sentences that have a linking verb.
Purple asters are the pride and joy of September.
2. Remove the linking verb.
Purple asters, the pride and joy of September
3. Complete the sentence.
Purple asters, the pride and joy of September,
are splashed along the roadside.
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Creating appositive phrases
Appositives also provide a way to combine short,
choppy sentences.
The river swirled below the steep cliff. The
cliff was a wall of stone two thousand feet high.
Turn one group of words into an appositive,and
add it to the other sentence.
The river swirled below the steep cliff, a wall
of stone two thousand feet high.
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Creating appositive phrases
On Your Own

• Make the following sentences more interesting by
  adding an appositive or appositive phrase on the
  blank provided. To make sure your appositive
  functions as a noun, begin the phrase with the,
  a(n), or that.
• 1. Above me flies a flock of geese, __________.
• 2. __________, tangy wood smoke clings to my
  clothes.
• 3. The winter cold, __________, drives me
  indoors.
• __________, I sit again by the fire.

End of Section
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Creating appositive phrases
Possible Answers

• Make the following sentences more interesting by
  adding an appositive or appositive phrase on the
  blank provided. To make sure your appositive
  functions as a noun, begin the phrase with the,
  a(n), or that.
• 1. Above me flies a flock of geese, a distant V
  in the sky.
• 2. An unwelcome guest, tangy wood smoke clings
  to my clothes.
• 3. The winter cold, that creeping thing, drives
  me indoors.
• A bundle of blankets, I sit again by the fire.

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Review A
For each pair of sentences, turn the first
sentence into an appositive phrase by removing
the linking verb. Then, combine it with the
second sentence. Remove or change any other words
as needed.

• Oberlin is our final destination.
• Tomorrow we reach Oberlin.

• Apples and pears are members of the rose family.
• These trees put more energy into fruit than
  flowers.

3. The setting sun was a distant glow on the
horizon. The setting sun marked the end of a
busy day.
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Review A
For each pair of sentences, turn the first
sentence into an appositive phrase by removing
the linking verb. Then, combine it with the
second sentence. Remove or change any other words
as needed.
possible answers

1. Tomorrow we reach Oberlin, our final destination.

1. Apples and pears, members of the rose family, put
   more energy into fruit than flowers.

3. A distant glow on the horizon, the setting sun
marked the end of a busy day.
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Review B
Create sentences using the nouns below. Have each
sentence include an appositive or appositive
phrase that renames the noun.
1. August
2. cabin 12
3. archery
4. Michael
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Review B
Write a sentence that includes each of the
following words or phrases as an appositive or an
appositive phrase.
possible answers
1. In August, my favorite month of the year, I
went to summer camp in North Carolina.
2. This year I stayed in cabin 12, the one at the
top of the hill.
3. Every Wednesday we had archery, my least
favorite activity.
4. Our cabin leader was Michael, a former camper.
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The End