Appositive Phrases Mrs. Henson English III AP * Adapted from Sentence Composing for High School Students by Don Killgallon

Overview Efficient way to combine related ideas to one sentence. Noun phrases Used to identify adjacent nouns or pronouns Can occur as: Sentence Openers Subject-Verb Split Sentence Closers

Important!! Appositives serve as either an adjective in a sentence. Just as with modifiers, appositive phrases MUST be placed in close proximity to the item being modified. If not placed properly, your sentence will have reference problems and be confusing to your reader!!!

Models Without Appositives With Appositives It went away slowly. That night in the south upstairs chamber Emmett lay in a kind of trance. It went away slowly, that feeling of disappointment that came sharply after the thrill that made his shoulders ache. Ernest Hemingway, “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I” That night in the south upstairs chamber, a hot little room where a full-leafed chinaberry tree shut all the air from the single window, Emmett lay in a kind of trance. Jessamyn West, “A Time of Learning”

Placement of Appositive Phrases Sentence Openers A balding, smooth-faced man, he could have been anywhere between forty and sixty. Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird Subject-Verb Splits A man, a weary old pensioner with a dirty head and a stained brown corduroy waistcoat, appeared at the door of a small gate lodge. Brian Moore, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne Sentence Closers Hour after hour he stood there, silent, motionless, a shadow carved in ebony and moonlight. James V Marshall, Walkabout

Unscrambling #1 struggled as usual she to maintain her calm, composed, friendly bearing a sort of mask she wore all over her body She struggled as usual to maintain her calm, composed, friendly bearing, a sort of mask she wore all over body. -D. H. Lawrence, “The Blind Man”

Unscrambling #2 the tyrannosaur with huge flaring nostrils a long snuggling inhalation that fluttered Baselton’s trouser legs gave Baselton a smell With huge flaring nostrils, the tyrannosaur gave Baselton a smell, a long snuffling inhalation that fluttered Baselton’s trouser legs. -Michael Crichton, The Lost World

Unscrambling #3 with the butt of a teamster’s whip once Enoch Bentley old Tom Bentley struck his father and the old man seemed likely to die the older one of the boys Once Enoch Bentley, the older one of the boys, struck his father, old Tom Bentley, with the butt of a teamster’s whip, and the old man seemed likely to die. Winesburg, Ohio

Appositives Practice Practice 2 Practice 3 Unscramble each set of sentence parts to create sentences which follow the model. Write 1 sentence of your own imitating the first model and each of the sentences found in the “Other Models” section. A total of 6 sentences Practice 3 Combine each set of sentence parts into 1 sentence which imitates the model. Then write 1 sentence of your own imitating each of the models. A total of 8 sentences