1. Appositives
Appositives: Are noun phrases that identify adjacent nouns or pronouns
1. They can occur as sentence openers, subject-verb splits, or sentence closers.
Ex. John, a young boy from the farm, had a difficult time making the adjustment to city life.
Ex. Christopher wanted enough time this afternoon to visit the historical bank, a building that was first constructed three hundred years ago.

2. Appositives: Sentence Openers
One of eleven brothers and sisters, Harriet was a moody, willful child.
2. A balding, smooth-faced man, he could have been anywhere between forty and sixty.

3. Appositives: Subject-Verb Splits
1. Poppa, a good quiet man, spent the last hours before our parting moving aimlessly about the yard, keeping to himself and avoiding me.
A man, a weary old pensioner with a bald dirty head and a stained brown corduroy waistcoat, appeared at the door of a small gate lodge.

4. Appositives: Sentence Closers
1. The boy looked at them, big black ugly insects Hour after hour he stood there, silent, motionless, a shadow carved in ebony and moonlight.

5. Appositives: Exercise
Each scrambled sentence has one or more appositives. Identify them. Then unscramble the sentence parts and write out the sentence, punctuating it correctly. Compare your sentences with the originals.

6. Appositive Exercise #1
a. the tyrannosaur b. with huge flaring nostrils c. a long snuffling inhalation that fluttered Baselton’s trouser legs d. gave Baselton a smell

7. Appositive Exercise #1: Answer
Original With huge flaring nostrils, the tyrannosaur gave Baselton a smell, a long snuffling inhalation that fluttered Baselton’s trouser legs.

8. Appositives: Exercise #2
a. went over to Tom Will’s saloon b. in the late afternoon c. Will Henderson d. and editor of the Eagle e. owner

9. Appositive Exercise #2 Answer
Original In the late afternoon Will Henderson, owner and editor of the Eagle, went over to Tom Will’s saloon.

10. Appositives: Exercise #3
a. and the jingle of trace chains b. was louder c. drag of brakes d. the sound of the approaching grain teams e. thud of big hooves on hard ground

11. Appositives Exercise #3 Answer
Original The sound of the approaching grain teams was louder, thud of big hooves on hard ground, drag of brakes, and the jingle of trace chains.