Appositives

Appositives are the combination of nouns which are used to describe another noun beside it. They are always right after each other. Appositives can add information into a sentence that’s useful, or they can make the sentence simpler. They are sometimes separated by commas, depending on which type of appositive you use. An example of an appositive in general is: The cockroach, a hairy bug, is crawling on the counter. There are two types of appositives.

The first type of appositives is restrictive. Restrictive Appositives add information so that you can understand the phrase better and they don’t require commas. They only include information that you need to know to understand what they are telling you. For example: My sister Katrina likes ice cream. There are no commas in there and the information that is included is used to understand the phrase better. We only needed to know that she likes ice cream to understand what the person telling us this is trying to convey.

The second type of appositives is non-restrictive. Non-restrictive appositives add unnecessary information to the sentence. They would add information such as shirt colour, hair colour or many other possibilities. For example: Jayden, who has green hair, is 18. We don’t need to know that he has green hair as it is unnecessary, and it doesn’t add anything useful to the sentence in its entirety. That shows that this sentence is non-restrictive.

When you identify appositives, look for the noun or phrase that reshapes another noun beside it. The noun or phrase will give you a better picture in your mind about what you are talking about. For example: His car, a purple speedster, is brand new. In this case, “a purple speedster” is the noun or phrase that reshapes “His car”.

Appositives, Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Test:

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