Writers — Do You Know What an Appositive Is?

It’s a strange word, and its meaning in the grammar world is possibly even stranger. An appositive refers to a noun or a phrase that adds extra information to the core of the sentence — specifically, it identifies or further defines an existing noun or noun phrase within the sentence. For example:

The woman, a grandmother in her seventies, won the National Bingo Championship for the second year in a row.

The appositive follows the noun or noun phrase, and changes or enriches our understanding or interpretation of the sentence. It enriches our understanding of the example above to know that the woman is a grandmother in her seventies.

There are two kinds of appositives: nonrestrictive, and restrictive. The definition between the two gets a little blurry, but essentially, a nonrestrictive appositive provides information that doesn’t change the fundamental meaning of the sentence; it provides nonessential information. For example:

Tom Hanks, the actor, will present the awards.

It’s not critical to know that Tom Hanks is an actor; most people will already know it, and the sentence still makes sense without it. On the other hand, a restrictive appositive changes the meaning of the sentence.