An appositive is a word or phrase that comes after the primary noun of a sentence: it is a-positioned next to it. It is important to know when the appositive is essential or non-essential: determining this will determine the presence or absence of commas (something the ACT cares a lot about!). Detecting this is also important as it ensures that you don’t add a single, lonely comma as a pause after the primary noun.
Let’s look at the sentence below and our flowchart that helps you determine whether an appositive is non-essential.
Claudius, the old man, gave Tanvi and Ganesh his address.
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Appositive (following the primary noun, Claudius)
↓ (Look to the left of the appositive and answer the following question:)
Is the subject (Claudius) of the sentence a specific detail?
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Yes (in the context, there’s only one Claudius).
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Would we still know who gave Tanvi and Ganesh his address if we got rid of the appositive?
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Yes.
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Therefore, the old man is a non-essential appositive.
The appositive is non-essential in nature. We know that Claudius gave Tanvi and Ganesh his address. Any other information about him will be additional information and not necessarily required for the sentence to make sense. Accordingly, the appositive (like any non-essential information) is bracketed off by commas.
Now it’s your turn! Comment with your answer choice and we’ll reveal the answer tomorrow:
Once upon a time, King Arthur the famous British knight [1] drew a sword, Excalibur [2] from a stone.
A. NO CHANGE
B. time King Arthur the famous British knight,
C. time, King Arthur, the famous British knight,
D. time, King Arthur, the famous British knightA. NO CHANGE
B. sword Excalibur
C. sword Excalibur,
D. sword, Excalibur,