What Is an Appositive? | Examples, Definition & Use

Appositives are nouns or noun phrases that provide information about another noun or noun phrase that precedes them (e.g., “Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, is a hero of mine”).

The noun or noun phrase described by an appositive is called the antecedent. The relationship between an antecedent and its appositive is called apposition.

The appositive typically follows the antecedent and is set apart from the rest of the sentence by commas. If the appositive provides information that is essential to understanding the sentence, however, commas should not be used (e.g., “My friend Devon is in med school”).

Appositive examples
Emily, our only daughter, is learning to drive.

The Austrian Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I consider the Russian novelist Dostoyevsky to be one of the greatest writers of all time.

Using commas with appositives

Appositives are divided into two categories based on the type of information they provide. These categories determine whether the appositive requires punctuation marks, such as commas.

  • Restrictive appositives are not set off by commas because they provide essential information that helps identify the antecedent (e.g., “We watched the Hitchcock film Vertigo”). Without the restrictive antecedent, it would be unclear which Hitchcock film is being discussed.
  • Nonrestrictive appositives are set off by commas because they provide nonessential information that is not required to identify the antecedent (e.g., “My maternal grandfather, Henry, studied history”). If the nonrestrictive appositive were removed from the sentence, the sentence would not lose any of its essential meaning.
Examples: Restrictive appositives Examples: Nonrestrictive appositives
Our neighbor Mrs. Robinson brought us a casserole. I sent a postcard to my oldest nephew, Danny.
Celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum. California’s Redwood National Park is the home of Hyperion, the world’s tallest recorded tree.
The groundbreaking scientist Rosalind Franklin played a crucial role in deciphering the structure of DNA. Syria’s capital, Damascus, has been continuously inhabited for at least 11,000 years.
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use commas correctly with appositives.

Nonrestrictive appositives: Include commas

Nonrestrictive appositives, also called nonessential appositives, contribute information that may add clarity to a sentence. However, without this added information, the sentence would carry exactly the same meaning.

Nonrestrictive appositive examples
The CEO of Acme, Mr. Smith, just resigned.

The CEO of Acme just resigned.

In this instance, the antecedent “the CEO of Acme” makes it clear who resigned. The nonrestrictive appositive serves as a reminder of the CEO’s name, but his identity is still clear without the appositive.

In addition to commas, nonrestrictive appositives can be set off by parentheses or em dashes. If it occurs at the end of a sentence, a nonrestrictive appositive can also be introduced by a colon.

Examples: Punctuating nonrestrictive appositives
  • The CEO of Acme Mr. Smith just resigned.
  • The CEO of Acme, Mr. Smith, just resigned.
  • The CEO of Acme—Mr. Smith—just resigned.
  • The CEO of Acme (Mr. Smith) just resigned.
  • The individual who just resigned was the CEO of Acme: Mr. Smith

Restrictive appositives: Don’t include commas

Restrictive appositives, also called essential appositives, contribute information that must be included to identify the antecedent. In sentences with a restrictive appositive, the appositive can’t be removed without changing the sentence’s meaning and making it more vague.

Restrictive appositive examples
  • The singer Amy Winehouse was born in a suburb of London.
  • The singer was born in a suburb of London.

The second sentence is vague, identifying its subject only as “the singer,” which could describe any one of millions of people. The second sentence could be used if Amy Winehouse were mentioned in a preceding sentence, but by itself, it is too vague.

Restrictive appositives don’t take commas, parentheses, em dashes, or any other punctuation. Setting off a restrictive appositive with punctuation would imply that the appositive is equivalent to the antecedent (e.g., that Amy Winehouse is the only person who could be called “the singer”).

Examples: Punctuating restrictive appositives
  • The singer, Amy Winehouse, was born in a suburb of London.
  • The singer (Amy Winehouse) was born in a suburb of London.
  • The singer—Amy Winehouse—was born in a suburb of London.
  • The singer Amy Winehouse was born in a suburb of London.
Note
In some sentences, the same appositive might be treated as either restrictive or nonrestrictive depending on the context.

My sister Pamela” makes sense without a comma if the speaker has more than one sister. If Pamela is the speaker’s only sister, a comma must be added (i.e., “My sister, Pamela”) to show that Pamela is the only person the antecedent could be describing.

Appositives that come before antecedents

While appositives typically follow antecedents, sometimes a nonrestrictive appositive is followed by a comma and then the noun it describes.

Examples: Appositives before antecedents
Home to a diverse range of plant and animal life, the Amazon rainforest plays a vital role in the global ecosystem.

A testament to human ingenuity, the Great Wall of China is so large that it’s visible from space.

A symbol of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge is admired both as a feat of engineering and for its vibrant color.

Appositives for emphasis

Nonrestrictive appositives, set apart by commas or other punctuation, can be used to add emphasis. These appositives are often quite similar to the antecedent, adding as few as one word for heightened effect (e.g., in the saying “home, sweet home”).

Alternatively, they might emphasize already-known information, bolstering the emotional weight of a statement (e.g., “Marriage, that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream” from The Princess Bride).

Examples: Appositives used for emphasis
Clara, poor Clara. What was she thinking?
He finally had a dog, a dog that was his very own.

Nonrestrictive appositives can also be placed at the end of a sentence for emphasis. Using an em dash or colon instead of a comma indicates especially strong emphasis. In such cases, the antecedent may not directly precede the appositive.

Example: Appositives used for emphasis at the end of a sentence
The detective surveyed the crime scenea particularly gruesome one.

She would face her greatest fear by the end of the day: diving among sharks.

Introducing an appositive

Introductory words and phrases can be used between the antecedent and the appositive to clarify the appositive’s purpose. These introductions can signal that the appositive will rephrase the antecedent, (e.g., “that is,” “i.e.”), add specificity (e.g., “namely,” “specifically”), add emphasis (e.g., “particularly,” “especially”), or name examples (e.g., “such as,” “for example,” “including,” “e.g.”).

Examples: Introducing appositives
The Romance languages (e.g., Spanish and Italian) have similar grammatical rules.
We love dancing—especially salsa dancing.

The bill proposed several new policies, namely, infrastructure spending, job creation, and educational reforms.

Frequently asked questions about appositive

What does “appositive” mean?

Appositive” describes a noun or noun phrase that follows another noun phrase (its antecedent) to provide additional information about it (e.g., “Our new student, Rita, loves reading”).

The relationship between the appositive and its antecedent is called apposition.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you punctuate appositive phrases correctly.

What is an antecedent?

An antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that a pronoun, possessive adjective, or appositive refers back to.

Sentences with pronouns or possessive adjectives need to have pronoun-antecedent agreement. To achieve this, use plural pronouns/possessive adjectives for plural antecedents and singular pronouns/possessive adjectives for singular antecedents.

In this example sentence, “their” and “them” are both plural to agree with the antecedent “flowers”:  “Manish took the dead flowers out of their vase and put them in the trash.”

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that provides information about its antecedent. For example in the sentence: “The poet Emily Dickinson was reclusive,” the antecedent is “Emily Dickinson,” and the appositive is “the poet.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use antecedents correctly in your writing.

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Magedah Shabo

Magedah is the author of Rhetoric, Logic, & Argumentation and Techniques of Propaganda and Persuasion. She began her career in the educational publishing industry and has over 15 years of experience as a writer and editor. Her books have been used in high school and university classrooms across the US, including courses at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. She has taught ESL from elementary through college levels.