1. Writing with Detail Appositive Phrases
Placing appositive phrases
Complex appositive phrases
Creating appositive phrases
Review A
Review B

2. Placing appositive phrases
Writers often add detail by using appositives.
An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed beside
another noun or pronoun to identify or describe it.
We read about the Roman poet
We read about the Roman poet
Virgil.
An appositive phrase consists of an appositive and any of its modifiers. .
We read about Virgil,
We read about Virgil,
the celebrated Roman poet.

3. Placing appositive phrases
Usually an appositive or appositive phrase is placed right after the word it modifies.
The monarch butterfly, an autumn migrant, flutters south at summer’s end.
The focus in this sentence is on the monarch butterfly, not its migration pattern.

4. Placing appositive phrases
Placing the appositive at the beginning of the phrase changes the focus of the sentence.
An autumn migrant, the monarch butterfly flutters south at summer’s end.
Now the focus is on the monarch’s autumn migration pattern.

5. Complex appositive phrases
Even though an appositive phrase can be quite long, it functions as a single noun.
The rowan, a tree, was once thought to ward off evil spirits.
The rowan, one of two known American varieties of mountain ash, was once thought to ward off evil spirits.

6. Complex appositive phrases
Complex appositive phrases may include a subordinate clause that contains a subject and a verb, but the entire phrase still acts as a noun.
September, a magic month, sends up flames of color in goldenrod, marigolds, zinnias, and sumac.
September, a magic month when summer is slow to leave, sends up flames of color in goldenrod, marigolds, zinnias, and sumac.

7. Creating appositive phrases
Appositive phrases can be formed from existing sentences. To create an appositive phrase . . .
1. Identify sentences that have a linking verb.
Purple asters are the pride and joy of September.
2. Remove the linking verb.
Purple asters, the pride and joy of September
3. Complete the sentence.
Purple asters, the pride and joy of September, are splashed along the roadside.

8. Creating appositive phrases
Appositives also provide a way to combine short, choppy sentences.
The river swirled below the steep cliff. The cliff was a wall of stone two thousand feet high.
Turn one group of words into an appositive, and add it to the other sentence.
The river swirled below the steep cliff, a wall of stone two thousand feet high.

9. Creating appositive phrases
On Your Own
Make the following sentences more interesting by adding an appositive or appositive phrase on the blank provided. To make sure your appositive functions as a noun, begin the phrase with the, a(n), or that.
1. Above me flies a flock of geese, __________.
2. __________, tangy wood smoke clings to my clothes.
3. The winter cold, __________, drives me indoors.
__________, I sit again by the fire.
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10. Review A
For each pair of sentences, turn the first sentence into an appositive phrase by removing the linking verb. Then, combine it with the second sentence. Remove or change any other words as needed.
Oberlin is our final destination.
Tomorrow we reach Oberlin.
Apples and pears are members of the rose family.
These trees put more energy into fruit than flowers.
3. The setting sun was a distant glow on the horizon.
The setting sun marked the end of a busy day.

11. Review B
Create sentences using the nouns below. Have each sentence include an appositive or appositive phrase that renames the noun.
1. August
2. cabin 12
3. archery
4. Michael

12. The End