Appositive Basics
What is an appositive?
An appositive is a noun plus its modifiers that renames or gives more information about another noun or pronoun.
What does it look like?
Dachshunds, small dogs with big tempers, were originally bred to hunt badgers.
The word DOGS is an appositive. "small dogs with big tempers" is an appositive phrase, because the rest of the words are used to modify DOGS. The entire appositive phrase is used to rename, or give more information about DACHSHUNDS.
The word DOGS is an appositive. "small dogs with big tempers" is an appositive phrase, because the rest of the words are used to modify DOGS. The entire appositive phrase is used to rename, or give more information about DACHSHUNDS.
How do I punctuate it?
Usually an appositive or appositive phrase is set off with commas on either side, as in the sentence above.
Exceptions to the rule
- If the appositive is at the end of the sentence, you don't need a comma at the end. Example:"I gave a bone to Ollie, my little dog."
- If the appositive is a proper noun, no commas are required. Example: "In the novel In the Lake of the Woods a politician is considered the main suspect in the missing persons case of his wife." (In the Lake of the Woods is a proper noun in apposition the common noun "novel.") Second example: "My uncle Bobby likes to gamble." There is no need to put a comma on either side of Bobby even though Bobby is an appositive, because Bobby is also a proper noun.