Appositive - Examples and Definition of Appositive

Definition of Appositive
When a noun or phrase is observed via any other noun or phrase that renames or identifies it, this is referred to as appositive. This is a literary device that looks earlier than or after a noun or noun word. It is constantly used with a comma. Simply, we can define it as a noun word or a noun that defines or explains another noun, which it follows.

In this grammatical structure, writers place factors like noun terms side-by means of-side, where one element serves to define the other, and one is in apposition to the other. For instance:

“We were waiting out of doors the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.” (A Hanging, via George Orwell)

In this line, “the condemned cells” is a noun phrase, while “a row of sheds” is an appositive that explains this noun word.

Types of Appositive
Restrictive Appositive
Restrictive appositive offers crucial information to perceive the phrase or noun in apposition. It clarifies the meaning of a word but, if the appositive is removed, the which means of the entire sentence changes. Commas are not necessarily used in this sort of appositive, inclusive of in, “John’s friend, Michael, likes chocolates.” Here, John has others friends, but the assertion is confined to most effective Michael.

Non-Restrictive Appositive
Non-restrictive appositive gives non-critical or extra records, which is not important to perceive the phrase or noun in apposition. This form of appositive is frequently used with commas, for example, “John, my buddy, likes to consume chocolates.” Here, my pal is a non-restrictive appositive, because it is not important for figuring out John.

Examples of Appositive in Literature
Example #1: A Christmas Memory (By Truman Capote)
“Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape collectively a nickel and visit the butcher’s to buy Queenie’s conventional gift, an amazing gnawable beef bone.”

In the above excerpt, a restrictive appositive is clarifying and describing a noun “traditional gift.” Here, this literary device has appeared after the noun, specifying the kind of gift.

Example #2: Bronx Primitive (By Kate Simon)
“Though her cheeks had been high-colored and her teeth strong and yellow, she gave the look of a mechanical woman, a machine with flashing, glassy circles for eyes.”

In this example, the noun “mechanical woman” is described and identified with the aid of a long noun word, a restrictive appositive, “flashing, gassy circles for eyes,” which serves as a useful tool in this excerpt, and brings range to the sentence, improving its meaning.

Example #3: The Pride of the Yankees (By Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig)
“I even have had the tremendous honor to have performed with these remarkable veteran ballplayers on my left –Murderers Row, our championship crew of 1927. I even have had the similarly honor of residing with and playing with these guys on my right — the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees of today.

Gehrig identifies a noun, “ballplayers,” with the aid of the usage of the restrictive appositive “murderers row,” and he provides a noun “championship group.” These two appositives are used with commas and add that means and significance to the sentence.

Example #4: Inside Cape Town (By Joshua Hammer)
“The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, Africa’s only nuclear electricity plant, changed into inaugurated in 1984 via the apartheid regime and is the main source of strength for the Western Cape’s 4.five million population.”

In the above extract, Hammer has used an appositive without delay after the noun word “Nuclear strength station,” which adds information to the sentence. This presents an instance of non-restrictive appositive which, if removed, does now not change the which means of the sentence.

Example #five: Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self (By Alice Walker)
“My father, a fat, funny man with stunning eyes and a subversive wit, is trying to decide which of his eight children he will take with him to the county fair.”

This is any other good instance of non-restrictive appositive, in which the noun “father” does no longer need extra information, however the creator has used a protracted noun phrase, “a fat, funny man … and a subversive wit,” to explain it.

Function of Appositive
The characteristic of appositive in literary works is to provide data, that's either important or additional. It additionally offers meanings to one-of-a-kind sentences in literary texts, and facilitates in identifying different nouns. An appositive noun also defines, explains, and clarifies the which means of a sentence. It is helpful to mix sentences to avoid too many uneven and short sentences. In addition, an appositive word gives variety to a literary work with the aid of the use of sentences of various lengths, permitting the writers to use exciting info with easy float of the analyzing experience.