An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames or identifies another noun right beside it.
My neighbour, a retired teacher, gardens every day.
Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive
Non-restrictive appositives add extra information and are set off with commas:
My mother, a wonderful cook, made dinner. Paris, the capital of France, is beautiful.
Restrictive appositives are essential to identify the noun and have no commas:
My brother Tom lives in London. (I have more than one brother) The poet Robert Frost wrote this poem. (essential to identify which poet)
Appositive Phrases
An appositive can include modifiers:
Mr. Jones, the new science teacher at our school, is very popular. She read a novel by her favourite author, a writer from Colombia.
Appositives at the Start of a Sentence
A talented musician, my brother plays guitar. *A city of lights, Paris attracts millions of visitors.*
Common Punctuation Rules
| Type | Punctuation | Example | | --------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Non-restrictive | Commas | The CEO, a former engineer, resigned. | | Restrictive | No commas | The CEO of the company resigned. | | List / series | Dashes | Three students — Anna, Ben, and Chloe — won the competition. | | Emphasis | Colon | He had one goal: to win the championship. |
Practice
Identify whether the appositive is restrictive or non-restrictive:
- My sister Emily lives in Chicago. (___)
- The Eiffel Tower, a famous landmark, is in Paris. (___)
- The author J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. (___)