Appositive Phrases free essay sample

An appositive is a sentence part that identifies a person, place, or thing named in a sentence. Appositives often begin with the words a, an, or the. They always answer one of these questions. Who is he? Who is she? Who are they? (people) What is it? (place or thing) Appositives occur at the beginning of a sentence (opener), between a subject and verb (s-v split), or at the end of a sentence (closer). Examples of Appositives Opener: A professional individualist, William T. Stead seemed almost to have planned his arrival. Walter Lord, A Night to RememberS-V Split: Cotton, the kitten, went up the tree but could not come down. Roger Duvoisin, Petunia Closer: May always liked the weird ones best, the ones you couldn’t peg right off. Cynthia Rylant, Missing May Directions: With a partner, match the appositives with the sentences. Write out each sentence, inserting and underlining the appositive. Use all three positions at least once—opener, s-v split, closer. Sentences:Appositives: 1. Maycomb was the county seata. suede with tags and zippers. of Maycomb county. 2. He signaled to Jake to take over the b. a red Olds. cash register. One of these dogs had disappeared. c. the middle brother 4. Tomorrow is Wednesday. d. the best one 5. And of course it was red. e. twenty miles east of Finch’s landing 6. That jacket is a class act. f. a working day Practice 2: Identifying 1. Discuss with a partner what who learned in Practice 1 about appositives. Jot down brief answers to these questions on this paper. a. What information do appositives tell? b. Are appositives sentences, or sentence parts? c. What words usually begin appositives? d. How long are appositives, short, medium, or long? e. Where can appositives be placed in a sentence? . When is one comma used for an appositive? Two commas? g. How can appositives improve your writing? 2. Find the appositives phrases in the following sentences, and see if your answers fit them. 1. Shannon, a boy Arthur knew from the playgrounds, approached. Hoop Dream-Ben Joravsky. Arthur dribbled low, like coach Bedford had taught him, and was careful to avoid the bits of glass and clumps of grass on the asphalt. Hoop Dream-Ben Joravsky 3. For Bedford and his assistants, Eli Ephram and Al Williams, it was hard to determine just how good their team would be. Hoop Dream-Ben Joravsky . Nate, the only person present who could get away with asking , blurted out, â€Å"So, are you going to get married, Grandma? † Hoop Dream-Ben Joravsky 5. Only one time, last summer, Ruthie had mentioned it. Finding Miracles, Julia Alvarez 6. Un milagrito, a little miracle, had happened! Finding Miracles, Julia Alvarez Practice 3: Combining With a partner, combine the two sentences by making the underlined part of the second sentence an appositive. Write the new sentence and underline the appositive. The pilot seemed more a machine than a man, b. He seemed an extension of the plane. Combination: The pilot seemed more a machine than a man, an extension of the plane. Gary Paulsen, Hatchet Sentences to Combine: 1a. In the long pasture, there was a small knoll which was the highest point on the farm. 1b. The pasture was not far from the farm buildings. George Orwell, Animal Farm Combination: Sentences to Combine: 2a. He remembered his mother taking the new child into her arms, while the document was read to the assembled family units. 2b. His new child was his sister. Lois Lowry, The Giver Combination: Sentences to Combine: 3a. Last year my new American friends took me to a carnival. 3b. Alyce and John took me to a carnival here in the suburbs of Chicago where I live now with my mother. Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary, The Other Side of the Sky Combination: Sentences to Combine: 4a. Ghulam Hussein decided to do something about this. 4b. Ghulam Hussein was my father. Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary, The Other Side of the Sky Combination: Sentences to Combine: 5a. Dr. Andrew Raleigh had written to her explaining that it served as the bunkhouse for the men working on the project. 5b. Dr. Andrew Raleigh was the project leader. Mary Anna Evans, Relics Combination: Sentences to Combine: 6a. One of my teachers back in Pennsylvania, always quoted at us, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. † 6b. Mr. Kaffi was one of my teachers. Margaret Peterson Haddix, Double Identity Combination: Practice 4: Unscrambling With a partner, unscramble the list of sentence parts and write out the sentence. Underline the sentence parts that are appositive phrases. Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. Tobias b. was about a hundred feet above us, floating on a nice warm current of air c. he remaining member of our group Unscrambled Sentence: Tobias, the remaining member of our group, was about a hundred feet above us. Floating on a nice warn current of air. K. A. Applegate, Animorphs: The Underground Scrambled Sentence Parts: 1a. does she go to your church 1b. Tammy 1c. that woman from the Y Margaret Peterson Haddix, Double Identity Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 2a. not one but two talented your gymnast harbored Olympic dreams 2b. in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere 2c,Illinois Margaret Peterson Haddix, Double Identity Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 3a. nd past the friendly woman at the front desk 3b. Ronald’s mom—who barely gets a nod 3c. Myrlie hustles me out of the locker room Margaret Peterson Haddix, Double Identity Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 4a. Seth’s quarter horse 4b. and blewair from his pink-lined nostrils 4c. Quiet lifted his reddish brown head over the box stall Mary Casanova, Wolf Shadows Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 5a. lay in Mom’s teal chair 5b. a ball of black cat fur 5c. Mid night Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 6a. about fat deer overruning suburban backyard, destroying gardens 6b. is cousin in Eagan 6c. he’d heard stories from Hannah Unscrambled Sentence: Practice 5: Expanding With a partner, create an appositive that begins with the words provided. Vary the lengths of the appositives – some short, some medium, some long.