Name ____________________________________ Date ______________________

English 9H Appositives

APPOSITIVES!

APPOSITIVES:
An appositive is a sophisticated tool that all great writers use!
Appositives are restatements of nouns that allow for additional information
within the sentence.
They are set off or separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
Writers use appositives to say MORE, concisely—they can change short, choppy
sentences into longer, more sophisticated sentences by using appositives.
A good writer makes appositives a basic component of his or her writing style!

Examples:

Ms. Murphy, a former resident of Minnesota, always cheers for the Vikings.
Ms. Murphy cheers for the Vikings, a team that rarely wins.

Directions: Identify the appositives by underlining them in the sentences below.

1. My dog, Harley, loves to go for walks in the morning.

2. Karen, a close friend of the family, is coming to visit on Tuesday.

3. Melissa gave her paintings to Anne, her favorite aunt.

4. Ernest Hemingway, one of the most famous American authors of the

twentieth century, had a passion for bullfighting and fishing.

5. Bloodhounds are gentle creatures, not the vicious beasts their name would
suggest.
Directions: In the examples below, combine two sentences to make one sentence
that contains an appositive.

Example:

Sabrina is the captain of the soccer team.

Sabrina is known for her athletic ability on the field.
   
Sabrina, the captain of the soccer team, is known for her athletic ability on the field.
OR
Sabrina, known for her athletic ability on the field, is the captain of the soccer team.

*Note that you must get rid of the subject and the verb in the sentence that you decide
to transform into an appositive*

1. Mike is an outgoing and friendly person.

Mike is a student running for class president.

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2. Holden Caulfield is one of the most popular characters in literature.

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the
Rye.

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3. Leonardo DiCaprio is the actor who plays Jay Gatsby in the most recent
remake of The Great Gatsby.
Leonardo DiCaprio is arguably one of the finest actors of his generation.

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Directions: Think about a person in your life or someone you would like to meet.
Create a sentence that tells the class something about this person. Your sentence
MUST give details by containing an appositive.

Sentence: _____________________________________________________________________________________

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Name __________________________________________ Date __________________________
English 9H Appositives Assignment

Assignment: Write a one-page review of your favorite book, film, or TV show. In your
review, you must discuss the characters and utilize at LEAST three appositives
correctly. You must highlight or underline your appositives.

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