Appositive Phrase

1. Appositive Phrase What is an appositive? The word appositive comes from a Latin verb meaning “to put near or next to.” Following its definition, an appositive is a word or group of words placed “near or next to” a noun to rename, describe, or add information to it. What is an appositive’s function? An appositive acts as an adjective, modifying a noun. Example: My hat, the blue one with pink ducks around the edge, is as ugly as the sweater that came with it.

2. Use appositive phrases to rid your writing of unnecessary words. Often two sentences can be combined into one by condensing the information from one sentence into an appositive. Example: two sentences The basketball star is an expert on dribbling the ball around his legs. He came to our game to put on a half-time show. Using an appositive phrase to form one sentence: The basketball star, an expert on dribbling the ball around his legs, came to our game to put on a half-time show.

3. Combine the following sentences to make one sentence by forming an appositive phrase from one of them. • Mr. Hilldale is retiring this year. He is the best teacher at the school. • Skiers enjoy skiing at Powder Mountain. It is the best place to ski in the state of Utah. • Bill thoroughly enjoyed his Thanksgiving meal. He is a wrestler who has been trying to keep to his weight limit. • During the assembly, I won the door prize. The prize was a life-size cutout statue of Santa. • Write four of your own sentences using an appositive phrase in each one.