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Have you ever wondered what an appositive phrase could be? An appositive phrase is a group of words that adds additional details or information about a noun in a sentence. It is like a side note that provides more clarity or definition to the main noun. You say the person’s name (like Raj, Krish, Shikha, and the list continues); you add a phrase that tells more about them. In the blog post, you will explore the meaning, types, usage and more about an appositive phrase.
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Also read: 55+ Phrases with Meaning to Boost Your Vocabulary
What are Appositive Phrases and Appositives?
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that describes, places or offers a mini explanation, for instance, the clause “My sister Ria is a doctor.” It contains the appositive noun, Ria. The appositive Ria identifies the noun sister and both words refer to the same person. An appositive can even be a noun phrase as in the sentence “That boy, the one singing songs, is a jolly fellow.”
Moreover, an appositive phrase often refers to an appositive as well as all of its modifiers adjectives, prepositional phrases, etc. Generally, an appositive phrase is put right next to the noun/noun phrase that it modifies.
Types of Appositive Phrases
An appositive phrase is a set of words that provides information about a noun or pronoun within a sentence. Here are the types of appositive phrases in English grammar you should be aware of:
How to Use an Appositive Phrase within Sentences?
Have a look at the following points to know what you must take care of when using an appositive phrase within a sentence:
- The appositive phrase should come instantly after the noun.
- As it represents and provides more information about the noun, it can be considered to be completing the role of an adjective.
- It is positioned next to a noun and can be utilised to complete the subject or object of the sentence. Due to that, it was previously known as a noun that could function as the subject or object of a sentence.
- If you can locate the noun in a sentence and ascertain the purpose of the noun phrase used as the appositive, you should have no difficulty in finding an appositive phrase.
- A sentence may contain multiple appositive phrases. You will encounter the usage of several appositive phrases in sentences that have more than one subject or object, as well as in sentences with both a subject and an object.
Read more: 50+ Examples of Phrase Prepositions
20 Best Apposite Phrase Examples for Everyday Usage
Listed below are examples of apposite phrases for your reference:
- In the heat of the moment
- A penny for your ideas
- Actions speak louder than words
- Bite the bullet
- Cutting corners
- The elephant in the room
- Jumping on the bandwagon
- Out of the frying pan and into the fire
- A picture is worth a thousand words
- Throwing caution to the wind
- All’s fair in love and war
- The calmness before the storm
- A stitch in time saves nine
- The devil is in the facts
- Don’t cry over spilt milk
- Every shadow has a silver lining
- A leopard can’t change its spots
- Grasping at straws
- Haste makes waste
- In the nick of time
Bonus – Apposite Phrase Exercise for Practice
Question: Go through the following sentences. Analyse and choose the appositive phrase in them.
- Alia, the leader of the pack, was killed by Aman Khan, the murderer.
- Mowgli, the man-cub, was found by Bhageera, the panther.
- I met Rahul, Aryan’s friend at the salon yesterday.
- Coimbatore, a city in Tamil Nadu, is regarded as the Manchester of the South.
- Have you read the Novel of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon?
- ‘Daffodils’, a poem by William Wordsworth, is known for its usage of figurative language.
- Dijo Jose’s new movie, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, starring Prithviraj and Suraj has reached worldwide praise.
- Lahaul and Spiti, the chilliest desert in India and one of the coldest deserts in the world, is known for its scenic beauty.
- Last month, Rahul, my brother from Canada, came to visit me.
- Raghav bought an iPhone 15, the latest one in the market.
Answer Key
- Alia, the leader of the pack, was killed by Shere Khan, the murderer.
- Mowgli, the man-cub, was found by Bhageera, the panther.
- I met Rahul, Aryan’s friend, at the salon yesterday.
- Coimbatore, a city in Tamil Nadu, is regarded as the Manchester of the South.
- Have you read the Novel of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon?
- ‘Daffodils’, a poem by William Wordsworth, is known for its use of figurative language.
- Dijo Jose’s new movie, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, starring Prithviraj and Suraj has achieved worldwide praise.
- Lahaul and Spiti, the chilliest desert in India and one of the coldest deserts in the world, is known for its scenic beauty.
- Today, Rahul, my brother from Canada, is celebrating his last birthday as a bachelor.
- Raghav bought an iPhone 15, the latest one in the market.
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FAQs
An appositive phrase is a group of words that adds additional details or information about a noun in a sentence. It’s like a side note that provides more clarity or definition to the main noun.
Raj, my best friend: In the provided sentence, the first noun is Raj. The second noun phrase is – my best friend. Both direct to the same person and therefore the nouns are in apposition. Its possessive point is formed by suffixing the apostrophe (‘s) to the last word in the second noun phrase i.e. friend.
In grammar, an apposition happens when two words or phrases are put beside each other in a sentence so that one explains or defines the other. An instance is the phrase “my dog Woofers,” in which “my dog” is in appositive to the name “Woofers.”
This was all about the appositive phrase in Learn English. Hope you understand the concept and know how to proceed. You can also follow the website of Leverage Edu for more exciting and informative blogs.
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