Download Phrases

Phrases
Phrases – 2
Remember
 A phrase is a group of words that acts
as a unit
 A phrase DOES NOT have a subject and
a verb
Phrases - 2
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These are the four categories of
phrases that we are studying:

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Prepositional phrases
Appositive phrases
Verbal phrases
Absolute phrases
Phrases – 2
We have already looked at prepositional
phrases.
Now we are going to look at the second
type of phrases - appositives
Appositive Phrases

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An appositive phrase is another group
of words that acts as a unit and does
NOT have a subject and verb.
It consists of a noun (and all of its
modifiers) that renames or provides
additional information about another
noun in the sentence.
Appositive Phrases

An appositive normally sits next to the
noun it renames; in other words, it is
“positioned next to” that noun, which is
why it is said to be “in apposition”.
Appositive Phrases

Can you identify the appositive phrase
in this sentence?
One Fish,Two Fish, my favorite book
by Dr. Seuss, is the the only book I
have read completely on my own.
Appositive Phrases
One Fish,Two Fish, my favorite book
by Dr. Seuss, is the the only book I
have read completely on my own.
“my favorite book by Dr. Seuss” renames
One Fish,Two Fish
Appositive Phrases

Appositive phrases are either
essential appositives
or
 nonessential appositives

Appositive Phrases

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An essential appositive provides
information that is necessary to the
meaning of the sentence
No comma is used to separate it
from the rest of the sentence.
Appositive Phrases

What is the essential appositive in this
sentence?
My favorite president Harry Truman led
the American people through the end of
World War II.
Appositive Phrases
My favorite president Harry Truman led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
Harry Truman is the essential
appositive. If I do not include his
name, you will not have enough
information to understand my meaning
completely.
Appositive Phrases
My favorite president Harry Truman led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
One check is to eliminate the appositive, and
see what happens. Here, you have a
complete sentence, but you really don’t know
to whom I am referring. The information is
incomplete. I need to supply his name.
Appositive Phrases
My favorite president Harry Truman led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
The second check is to see if I can change
the appositive and keep the meaning of the
sentence. If I do change this appositive and
put in another name, I have changed the
meaning of the sentence entirely.
Appositive Phrases
My favorite president Bill Clinton led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
As you can see, this changes the basic
meaning of the sentence, making it
historically incorrect.
Appositive Phrases
The other type of appositive is the
nonessential appositive.
Appositive Phrases
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A nonessential appositive provides
information that in itself may be
important, but is really only additional
information and is not necessary to the
core meaning of the sentence.
Commas are used to separate it from
the rest of the sentence.
Appositive Phrases
What is the nonessential appositive in
this sentence?
Harry Truman, my favorite president, led
the American people through the end of
World War II.
Appositive Phrases
Harry Truman, my favorite president, led
the American people through the end of
World War II.
My favorite president is the nonessential
appositive. I don’t have to tell you he is my
favorite president in order to tell you that
he led the American people through the end
of World War II.
Appositive Phrases
Harry Truman, my favorite president, led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
And now for the second test. Can I
change the appositive but keep the
basic point of the sentence intact?
Appositive Phrases
Harry Truman, the president who succeeded
FDR, led the American people through the
end of World War II.
As you can see, the basic point of my
sentence, that he led the American
people through the end of World War
II, remains intact.
Appositive Phrases
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With appositives, remember that if you
need the phrase to make the meaning
clear, or if changing the appositive
changes the basic point of the
sentence, it is an essential appositive
and does not require commas.
Appositive Phrases
My favorite president Harry Truman led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
If you need the phrase, you DON’T
need the commas.
Appositive Phrases

If you do not need the phrase to make
the meaning clear, and changing the
appositive does not affect the basic
point of the sentence, it is an
nonessential appositive and requires
commas.
Appositive Phrase
Harry Truman, my favorite president, led the
American people through the end of World
War II.
If you don’t need the phrase, you DO
need the commas.
Appositive Phrases
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In class, we will be practicing
identifying appositives, determining
whether they are essential or
nonessential, and punctuating them
correctly.
Appositive Phrases
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We will also look at how to use
appositives to improve
the basic sentence
structure in your writing.
Appositive Phrases
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Verbs of being are weaker verbs that
don’t do much for your sentence.
You want to eliminate as many of them
as you can to use action verbs to make
your writing vibrant.
Using an appositive phrase is a good
way to eliminate verbs of being in your
writing.
Appositive Phrases

Wilbur is the new class president.
He is the president of the junior
class. He met with his officers to
plan fundraisers to offset the cost
of the Prom.
Appositive Phrases

In that group of sentences, we have
three verbs, two of which are verbs of
being. They are not dynamic enough to
make the sentence vibrant. One way to
improve these three choppy sentences
is to combine them into one, eliminating
the verbs of being.
Appositive Phrases

Wilbur is the new class president.
He is the president of the junior
class. He met with his officers to
plan fundraisers to offset the cost
of the Prom.
Appositive Phrases

Wilbur, is the new class president.
He is the president of the junior
class, He met with his officers to
plan fundraisers to offset the cost
of the Prom.
Appositive Phrases

We will be working in class on ways
to combine short, choppy, little
sentences into more sophisticated
ones by eliminating verbs of being
using appositives.