Lesson 128 - Parts of the Sentence - Appositives

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An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames the noun or pronoun that it follows. It is set off by commas unless closely tied to the word that it identifies or renames. ("Closely tied" means that it is needed to identify the word.) 

 

Appositives should not be confused with predicate nominatives. A verb will separate the subject from the predicate nominative. An appositive can follow any noun or pronoun including the subject, direct object, or predicate nominative.

 

Examples: 

My son Carl is a medical technician. (no commas) 

Badger, our dog with a missing leg, has a love for cats. (commas needed)

Appositives may be compound. 

 

Example: 

The two children, Wendy and Sam, are excellent students.

Instructions: Identify the appositives in the following sentences and tell whether they are appositives to subjects, direct objects, or predicate nominatives.

1. Our leading scorer is Michael, the center and captain of the team.

2. These two students, Kay and Eric, are new to our school.

3. The doctor helped two patients, the boy with the broken leg and the girl with a burned arm.

4. Our neighbors, the Smiths and the Fehers, are moving next week.

5. James loves two games, checkers and chess.

--For answers scroll down.

Answers:

1. center/captain = appositives to predicate nominative, Michael

2. Kay/Eric = appositives to subject, students

3. boy/girl = appositives to direct objects, patients

4. Smiths/Fehers = appositives to subject, neighbors

5. checkers/chess = appositives to direct object, games

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