Practice in Using Appositives

As we've seen, an appositive is a word or group of words that concisely identifies or renames another word in a sentence. The exercises on this page offer practice in identifying, building, and revising sentences with appositives.

A) Identifying Appositives

Some of the sentences below contain adjective clauses; others contain appositives. Identify the adjective clause or appositive in each sentence; then compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise.

1. John Reed, an American journalist, helped found the Communist Labor Party in America.
2. My sister, who is a supervisor at Munchies, drives a company car.
3. I took a cookie from Gretel, who is the woodcutter's daughter.
4. I took a cookie from Gretel, the woodcutter's daughter.
5. Og, the King of Bashan, was saved from the flood by climbing onto the roof of the ark.
6. I once saw Margot Fonteyn, the famous ballerina.
7. Elkie Fern, who is a professional botanist, led the kids on a nature hike.
8. Elsa, a good country woman, has a daughter named Ulga.
9. Paul Revere, who was a silversmith and a soldier, is famous for his "midnight ride."
10. I read a biography of Disraeli, the 19th-century statesman and novelist.

ANSWERS:

1. appositive: an American journalist
2. adjective clause: who is a supervisor at Munchies
3. adjective clause: who is the woodcutter's daughter
4. appositive: the woodcutter's daughter
5. appositive: the King of Bashan
6. appositive: the famous ballerina
7. adjective clause: who is a professional botanist
8. appositive: a good country woman
9. adjective clause: who was a silversmith and a soldier
10. appositive: the 19th-century statesman and novelist

B) Building and Revising Sentences with Appositives

Rewrite each of the following sentences (or sets of sentences) according to the instructions in parentheses. (If you run into problems, review Building Sentences with Appositives.) When you're done, compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise. Note that in most cases more than one combination is possible.

1. (Combine the two sentences below into a single clear sentence: turn the first sentence into an appositive.
   
   St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers.
   St. Valentine was never married.



2. (Combine the two sentences below by turning the second sentence into an appositive.
   Lewis Carroll is the author of Alice in Wonderland.
   Lewis Carroll was a mathematics lecturer at Oxford University.



3. (Convert the adjective clause--in italics--into an appositive by eliminating the relative pronoun and the verb is.)
   Willie Sarkis, who was a concert pianist in his youth, now plays for tips and drunks at the Rainbow Grill.



4. (Combine the two sentences below by treating the pastoral god of fertility as an appositive.)
   Pan is the pastoral god of fertility.
   He is commonly depicted as a man with goat's horns, ears, and legs.



5. (Combine the three sentences below into a single clear sentence; create an appositive out of the words in italics, and place the appositive at the start of your new sentence.)
   Mr. Bun is a sneaky man.
   Mr. Bun is a sinister man.
   Mr. Bun lingers in the alleys at dawn.
   Mr. Bun creeps along the front walk every evening.



6. (Combine the sentences below by turning the first sentence into an appositive; place it after the word Hawaii, and set it off with dashes.)
   Hawaii is an island far distant from the major sources of pollution.
   The filth in the air over Hawaii has increased dramatically over the past 30 years.



7. (Rewrite the sentence below so that the appositive appears at the end.)
   The final gift--hope--lay at the bottom of Pandora's box.



8. (Combine the two sentences below by turning the second sentence into an appositive. Repeat the word laws and place the appositive at the end of the sentence.)
   Folks are pressing for new laws designed to restrict hunting.
   These are laws that have nothing to do with game protection or safety.



9. (Combine the sentences below by turning the first sentence into a negative appositive.)
   Merdine was never a threat to anyone.
   Merdine talked tough and walked with a swagger.



10. (Combine the two sentences below by turning the second sentence into an appositive.)
    Madge and I strolled through the graveyard.
    The graveyard is the most peaceful spot in town.



11. (Combine the following sentences into one clear sentence: turn the first three sentences into a list appositive.
    Jackie Robinson was a fierce competitor.
    Jackie Robinson was a daring runner.
    Jackie Robinson was a solid hitter.
    Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six World Series in his ten years with the team.



12. (Combine the following sentences into one clear sentence: turn sentences two through seven into an appositive.
    It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust.
    It was a place filled with laughter.
    It was a place filled with play.
    It was a place filled with pain.
    It was a place filled with hurt.
    It was a place filled with ghosts.
    It was a place filled with games.
    

ANSWERS:
In most cases, more than one combination is possible.

1. St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, was never married.
2. Lewis Carroll, a mathematics lecturer at Oxford University, is the author of Alice in Wonderland.
3. Willie Sarkis, a concert pianist in his youth, now plays for tips and drunks at the Rainbow Grill.
4. Pan, the pastoral god of fertility, is commonly depicted as a man with goat's horns, ears, and legs.
   
5. A sneaky, sinister man, Mr. Bun lingers in the alleys at dawn and creeps along the front walk every evening.
   
6. The filth in the air over Hawaii--an island far distant from the major sources of pollution--has increased dramatically over the past 30 years.
   
7. The final gift lay at the bottom of Pandora's box--hope.
   
8. Folks are pressing for new laws designed to restrict hunting--laws that have nothing to do with game protection or safety.
   
9. Never a threat to anyone, Merdine talked tough and walked with a swagger.
   
10. Madge and I strolled through the graveyard, the most peaceful spot in town.
11. A fierce competitor, a daring runner, and a solid hitter, Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six World Series in his ten years with the team.
    
12. It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust--a place filled with laughter and play, pain and hurt, ghosts and games.