What Is an Appositive

An appositive is a noun or pronoun or series of nouns that are placed next to another noun or pronoun or noun phrase so as to explain or identify or rename it precisely. The main objective of using an appositive is to provide some additional information about the noun in the sentence. This additional information can be erased from the sentence if required. Generally, an appositive phrase follows the word, it identifies or explains, but it is not necessary that it should always come after the word. It can also precede the word. The poets and writers use appositive phrases in order to make their poetry and stories more rich and interesting for readers.

Appositives are identified in the sentence with the help of commas. However, in some sentences, we do not use comma around the appositive. Generally, when a sentence is clear and concise and the information is essential and justify the sentence, then we do not use commas before or after the appositive. For instance, American astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. Let us see the use of appositive in sentences.

Example sentence starting with appositive

•    Your brother, Tony is playing a football tournament at the stadium.

•    Your friend, Christina won her first trophy in the dance competition.  

•    My neighbor, Justin bought a new sports car. 

•    A man with great strength, Tom was able to pull the heavy vehicle.

•    Dressed in a teal colored evening gown, Sasha was the center of attraction in the party.

Example sentences with appositive in between the sentence

•    An ostrich, a large and heavy flightless bird, scared the onlookers at the zoo.

•    The insect, a small and hairy creature, scared me.

•    Mrs. Rose, my neighbor, is a good human being. 

•    Jane and Henry, my friends, are planning to join a music club.

•    Tokyo, the capital of Japan, has sophisticated railways.