Positively Descriptive Appositives Positively Descriptive

What is it? An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify or describe it.

Some Examples The cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space. [The noun Yuri Gagarin identifies the noun cosmonauts .] I chose one person, her, to organize the volunteers. [The pronoun her refers to the noun person.] NOTICE: commas set off nonessential appositives and nonessential appositive phrases.

Essential VS Nonessential My sister, Lana, has blond hair. [The writer has only one sister. The appositive is not essential to identify the sister, so it is set off by commas.] My sister Lana has blond hair. [The writer has more than one sister. The appositive is necessary to tell which sister is meant. Because this information is essential to the meaning of the sentence it is not set off by commas.]

Commas are usually used with appositives that refer to proper nouns. EXAMPLE: Rachel Carson, a biologist and writer, published the book Silent Spring in 1962. [The nouns biologist and writer describe the proper noun Rachel Carson. The noun Silent Spring identifies the common noun book.]

An appositive phrase consists of an appositive and its modifiers.

Some Examples Officer Webb, one of the security guards, caught the burglar. [The adjective phrase of the security guards modifies the appositive one.] Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian painter known for his artworks, was also an architect, engineer, and scientist. [The article an, the adjective Italian, and the participial phrase known for his artworks modify the appositive painter.]