Appositives: Renaming Words and Other Terms
2024-09-27
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Imagine you want to improve your writing skills.
2Perhaps you would like to take an English test or use English in a business email.
3Today on Everyday Grammar, we will talk about something that could help you: appositives.
4We will explain the grammar rules behind appositives and demonstrate how to use them in sentences.
5Let us begin with a few definitions.
6An appositive is a word or group of words that renames something else.
7An appositive is often a noun or noun phrase that helps explain or identify another noun or a pronoun.
8Take this sentence, for example:
9My best friend, Ahmed, studies English literature.
10The subject of the sentence is my best friend.
11The name Ahmed is an appositive. It adds information to the sentence.
12What is important is that the sentence is grammatically correct without the appositive.
13So, our example without the appositive would read:
14My best friend studies English literature.
15Now, let us consider a more complex example.
16Imagine you are reading a crime novel.
17Perhaps the book has the following lines.
18Police questioned the next suspect, the victim's ex-wife.
19In this example, the victim's ex-wife is the appositive.
20The words give readers more information about the next suspect.
21If the sentence did not have an appositive, it would have been written this way:
22Police questioned the next suspect.
23Martha Kolln and Robert Funk wrote a famous book on English grammar.
24In it, they note that if an appositive renames the subject of a sentence, it can introduce the same sentence.
25Kolln and Funk say the following description, by Michael D. Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, is a good example of an introductory series of appositives.
26It is about epithets, or insulting terms, that people used to describe the Vikings of northern Europe.
27"Ravagers, despoilers, pagans, heathens - such epithets pretty well summed up the Vikings for those who lived in the British Isles during medieval times."
28The nouns ravagers, despoilers, pagans and heathens are all epithets, the subject of the sentence.
29The writers could have left out the list of nouns.
30Instead, they could have begun the sentence simply with the words epithets such as, or such epithets.
31You might be asking yourself why this discussion is important.
32The reason is this: using appositives correctly is one of the best ways to improve your writing style.
33Appositives can help writers change the rhythm or order of a sentence.
34In other words, appositives help make sentences more interesting.
35Think back to our first example:
36My best friend, Ahmed, studies English literature.
37If you were to write the example as two separate sentences, it might be something like this:
38My best friend studies English literature. My friend's name is Ahmed.
39These sentences are grammatically correct. But they are repetitive.
40In other words, they are less interesting to read.
41The next time you are reading, try to find examples of appositives. Ask yourself why the writer might have chosen to use them.
42When you practice writing in English - perhaps for a test or business purposes - try to use appositives in certain places.
43They will help make your writing smooth and clear - if you use them correctly!
44We will leave you with a famous example.
45In his book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill wrote the following words about Britain's Queen Victoria.
46High devotion to her royal task, domestic virtues, evident sincerity of nature, a piercing and sometime disconcerting truthfulness - all these qualities of the Queen's had long impressed themselves upon the mind of her subjects.
47Can you identify the appositive? Can you identify the subject of the sentence? Write to us in the Comments Section of our website.
48I'm Anne Ball.
49And I'm John Russell.
1Imagine you want to improve your writing skills. Perhaps you would like to take an English test or use English in a business email. 2Today on Everyday Grammar, we will talk about something that could help you: appositives. 3We will explain the grammar rules behind appositives and demonstrate how to use them in sentences. 4Let us begin with a few definitions. 5Appositive definition 6An appositive is a word or group of words that renames something else. 7An appositive is often a noun or noun phrase that helps explain or identify another noun or a pronoun. 8Take this sentence, for example: 9My best friend, Ahmed, studies English literature. 10The subject of the sentence is my best friend. The name Ahmed is an appositive. It adds information to the sentence. 11What is important is that the sentence is grammatically correct without the appositive. 12So, our example without the appositive would read: 13My best friend studies English literature. 14Another example 15Now, let us consider a more complex example. 16Imagine you are reading a crime novel. Perhaps the book has the following lines. 17Police questioned the next suspect, the victim's ex-wife. 18In this example, the victim's ex-wife is the appositive. The words give readers more information about the next suspect. 19If the sentence did not have an appositive, it would have been written this way: 20Police questioned the next suspect. 21Appositives can introduce a sentence 22Martha Kolln and Robert Funk wrote a famous book on English grammar. In it, they note that if an appositive renames the subject of a sentence, it can introduce the same sentence. 23Kolln and Funk say the following description, by Michael D. Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, is a good example of an introductory series of appositives. It is about epithets, or insulting terms, that people used to describe the Vikings of northern Europe. 24"Ravagers, despoilers, pagans, heathens - such epithets pretty well summed up the Vikings for those who lived in the British Isles during medieval times." 25The nouns ravagers, despoilers, pagans and heathens are all epithets, the subject of the sentence. 26The writers could have left out the list of nouns. Instead, they could have begun the sentence simply with the words epithets such as, or such epithets. 27Why are appositives important? 28You might be asking yourself why this discussion is important. 29The reason is this: using appositives correctly is one of the best ways to improve your writing style. Appositives can help writers change the rhythm or order of a sentence. In other words, appositives help make sentences more interesting. 30Think back to our first example: 31My best friend, Ahmed, studies English literature. 32If you were to write the example as two separate sentences, it might be something like this: 33My best friend studies English literature. My friend's name is Ahmed. 34These sentences are grammatically correct. But they are repetitive. In other words, they are less interesting to read. 35What can you do? 36The next time you are reading, try to find examples of appositives. Ask yourself why the writer might have chosen to use them. 37When you practice writing in English - perhaps for a test or business purposes - try to use appositives in certain places. They will help make your writing smooth and clear - if you use them correctly! 38We will leave you with a famous example. In his book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill wrote the following words about Britain's Queen Victoria. 39High devotion to her royal task, domestic virtues, evident sincerity of nature, a piercing and sometime disconcerting truthfulness - all these qualities of the Queen's had long impressed themselves upon the mind of her subjects. 40Can you identify the appositive? Can you identify the subject of the sentence? Write to us in the Comments Section of our website. 41I'm Anne Ball. 42And I'm John Russell. 43John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 44We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 45______________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47grammar - n. the study of words and their uses and relations in sentences 48ex- prefix meaning former 49introduce - v. to lead to or present 50sum up - phrasal verb to describe or show the most important parts or qualities of (someone or something) in a brief or simple way 51medieval - adj. of or relating to Europe's Middle Ages 52practice - v. to work at repeatedly so as to become skilled 53devotion - n. a feeling of strong love or loyalty 54virtue - n. morally good behavior 55sincerity - n. having or showing true feelings that are expressed in an honest way 56disconcerting - adj. unnerving or troubling; concerning