Appositives. Brian Demcher and Maeve Doyle

Transcription

1 Appositives Brian Demcher and Maeve Doyle

2 What is it? An appositive is a noun or a noun phrase that tells you something about a nearby noun or pronoun. Appositives are mostly separated by three different forms of punctuation: one or two commas, one or two dashes, or a colon. Dashes emphasize the appositive more than commas do. Also, appositives that contain its own internal commas, then one dash, two dashes or a colon allows for an easier sentence to read.

3 Examples of appositives It turned out that one of the top students, Denny Davies, had learned of this rule. Margaret Talbot In 1981, two professors began following the lives of eighty-one high-school valedictorians-forty-six women and thirty-five men from Illinois. Margaret Talbot We were given plenty of instructions about the specifics of writing: word choice, description, style. Kyoko Mori

4 However... If the sentence can be understood without the appositive, the writer uses punctuation to set off the appositive. If the sentence cannot be understood without the appositive, the writer does not set off the appositive with punctuation marks.

5 Examples When my cousin Kazumi studied ikebana, she was disillusioned by the unfair judgements her teachers made every year. Kyoko Mori Since Kyoko Mori has several different cousins; it is important that she tell the reader which cousin she is describing, so she does not punctuate the appositive. It turned out that one of the top students, Denny Davies, had learned of this rule. Margaret Talbot Since you can understand the sentence without the name since it is a minor detail, the appositive is set off with commas.

6 Where Should I place it? The most common place an appositive is placed is before the noun or pronoun. A wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, Daniel Kennedy was in 1997 the principal of Sarasota High School. Margaret Talbot Kennedy, a wiry fifty-nine-year-old who has a stern buzz cut, was in 1997 the principal of Sarasota High School. Margaret Talbot Whether you put the appositive before or after the noun it details, is based on stylistic choice. Always read the sentence to make sure it sounds right!

7 Rhetorical and Stylistic Functions An appositive can clarify a term by providing: A proper noun Synonym for the term By defining or explaining the term Getting more specific Also an appositive can smooth choppy writing

8 Examples Its hero is Scout s father, the saintly Atticus Finch. Francine Prose (Proper Noun) an automaton, a machine, can be made to keep a school so. Ralph Waldo Emerson (Synonym) Yet in other genres-fiction and memoir- the news is far more upsetting. Francine Prose (Specificity)

9 More Examples First published in 1970, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is what we have since learned to recognize as a survivor memoir-a first-person narrative of victimization and recovery. Francine Prose (Longer Definition) One might suppose that teenaers might enjoy the transformative science-fiction aspects of The Metamorphosis, a story about a young man so alienated from him dysfunctional family that he turns..into a giant beetle. Francine Prose (Explanation)

10 In your book Please open up your book onto page 169 as we read the examples of sentences that do not include an appositive inside of them.

11 Practice Please complete these problems inside of your notebook. You will be given a sentence, and you must point out and underline where the appositive is inside of the sentence. We will take volunteers to come in front of the class and show everybody where the appositive is located.

12 Practice My father, a truly exceptional man, worked at an ordinary job and was unknown out the small town where he lived. The restaurant s signature dish, a tantalizing fish taco, is also one of the least expensive entrees on the menu. The eruptions in the early part of our century-the time of world wars and emergent modernity-were premonitions of a sort.

13 Practice You will be given two short statements that you must combine into one sentence containing an appositive. Take a moment and try and think about how to combine them into one sentence. We will call on people to share their responses.

14 Practice The Times is a world-renowned newspaper. It is delivered to my house every day. A major health problem for teenagers is bulimia. Bulimia is an eating disorder. That call was from Bridget. She s the top student in my calculus class. My car is in the parking lot. It s an old blue station wagon with a dent in the fender.

15 Worksheet Please complete the worksheet that Maeve and I have handed out to you.