Appositive Phrases

Using Appositive Phrases

Practice 1: Matching 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 Remember S-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 couldnt 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 onceopener, s-v split, closer.

Sentences: Appositives: 1. Maycomb was the county seat a. suede with tags and zippers.

of Maycomb county.

2. He signaled to Jake to take over the b. a red Olds. cash register. 3. 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 Finchs 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?

f. 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.

2. 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

4. Nate, the only person present who could get away with asking , blurted out, 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. EXAMPLE--------------------------------------------------------- Sentences to Combine:

a. 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.

EXAMPLE--------------------------------- Scrambled Sentence Parts:

a. Tobias b. was about a hundred feet above us, floating on a nice warm current of air c. the 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


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


Unscrambled Sentence:

Scrambled Sentence Parts: 3a. and past the friendly woman at the front desk 3b. Ronalds momwho barely gets a nod 3c. Myrlie hustles me out of the locker room



Scrambled Sentence Parts: 4a. Seths 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


Scrambled Sentence Parts:

5a. lay in Moms teal chair 5b. a ball of black cat fur 5c. Midnight Unscrambled Sentence: Scrambled Sentence Parts: 6a. about fat deer overruning suburban backyard, destroying gardens 6b. his cousin in Eagan 6c. hed 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.

EXAMPLE------------------------------------------------ Sentence: Another man came in, a man Sample Appositives: Short: a man about forty Medium: a man she had seen the other day Long: a man unable to stop yelling about his teams victory in the championship game Original Sentence: Another man came in, a man in dusty Levis and a black hat mottled with sweat stains. Hal Borland, When the Legends Die

1. The car was ancient, a

Short: Medium: Long:

Patricia Reilly Giff, Pictures of Hollis Woods

1. Its owner was a Mr. Frederick, a tough



4. At the last moment Mollie, the,came mincing daintily in, chewing on a lump of sugar.



5. Nonsense, a golden retriever, shifted under the table and lay at Seths stocking

feet.


Mary Casanova, Wolf Shadows

Practice 6: Unscrambling to Imitate

With a partner, unscramble both lists of sentence parts to imitate the same model. Imitate the arrangement of sentence parts in the model. EXAMPLE-------------------------------------------------------- Model to Imitate: A short round boy of seven, he took little interest in troublesome things, preferring to remain on good terms with everyone. Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Lists: Imitations: a. a new enthusiastic teacher of math A new enthusiastic teacher of math, she b. wanting to teach with high interest taught lessons with fun activities, wanting for all her students to teach with high interest for all her c. she taught most lessons with fun students. activities a. the newest kid in the neighborhood The newest kid in the neighborhood, b. beginning to relate to all the other Lamont made friends with amazing speed, kids by sharing neat game beginning to relate to all the other kids by c. Lamont made friends with amazing sharing neat games. speed FIRST MODEL: John dusted off his best chair, a rocker with its runners off.

Joseph Krumgold, Onion John

Lists: Imitations: 1a. by Brittany Spears. 1b. an album 1c. Mary looked over 1d. her newest purchase 2a. Mr. Jones ran toward 2b. with a shiny black coat 2c. a stallion 2d. his new horse

SECOND MODEL: Mrs. Whatsit sighed, a sigh so sad that Meg wanted to put her arms around her and comfort her.

Madeleine LEngle, A Wrinkle in Time

Lists: Imitations: 3a. to end the procedure and send him home 3b. that the doctors wanted 3c. Mr. Higgens screamed 3d. a scream so blood-curdling 4a. that the mountain seemed 4b. a crash so loud 4c. to tremble and shake 4d. the thunder crashed

Practice 7: Unscrambling and Imitating With a partner, unscramble the list of sentence parts to imitate the model, and then write your own imitation of the model. EXAMPLE--------------------------------------------------------------------- Model to Imitate: Sounder was making an awful noise, a half-strangled mixture of growl and bark. William H. Armstrong, Sounder Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. a judgmental glance b. the principal was giving a stern look c. of disappointment and anger Unscrambled Sentence: The principal was giving a stern look, a judgmental glance of disappointment and anger. Sample Imitation: Chloe was throwing a perfect pitch, an effective combination of speed and precision. MODEL: His eyes focused on Mama again, a tiny figure in the distance now.

Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. a distinguished presence b. the orchestra watched the conductor now c. on the podium again

Unscrambled Sentence: Imitation:

MODEL: Gilly gave little William Ernst the most fearful face in all her repertory of scary looks, sort of a cross between Count Dracula and Godzilla.

Katherine Paterson, The Great Gilly Hopkins

Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. kind of a combination of great jazz and blues b. the most soulful song from her album of sad tunes c. Renee presented the audience Unscrambled Sentence: Imitation: MODEL: The Trunchbull, this might female giant, stood there in her green

breeches, quivering like a blancmange. Roald Dahl, Mathilda

Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. the quarterback b. stiff as a board c. a handsome male Adonis, lay there in his muddy uniform Unscrambled Sentence: Imitation: MODEL: He stood at the foot of the bridge that spanned the river, the bridge that citizens were allowed to cross only on official business.

Lois Lowry, The Giver

Scrambled Sentence Parts: a. the corridor that students b. without a teacher pass c. she sat outside the entrance of the corridor d. were forbidden to enter Unscrambled Sentence: Imitation:

Practice 8: Creative Writing Directions: On your own, create a detailed paragraph describing either your family or friends. Begin with a topic sentence that places your subjects at a specific event. Describe what is going on using an appositive phrase that identifies each of the people. Be sure to vary the positionopener, s-v split, closer.

EXAMPLE: Using the overhead, the teacher does a Think Aloud and models writing a detailed paragraph focusing on people at an event, using appositives to provide a more detailed picture of the participants.

Appositive Phrases

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