1.9
Appositives
OBJECTIVES • To identify and use appositives and appositive phrases • To distinguish between restrictive and nonrestrictive appositives
DAILY MAINTENANCE Assign Practice Book page 4, Section 1.9. After students finish, 1. Give immediate feedback. 2. Review concepts as needed. 3. Model the correct answer. Pages 4–5 of the Answer Key contain tips for Daily Maintenance.
Luke’s brother Micah likes to skateboard.
Underline Micah and tell students that it is an appositive because it tells who Luke’s brother is. Explain that if Luke has more than one brother, the word Micah is necessary to know which brother is being talked about, so the appositive is restrictive and no commas are needed. Explain that if Luke has only one brother, naming him is not necessary, so Micah is nonrestrictive and commas are needed.
WARM-UP
PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Ask volunteers to tell what information each appositive provides, whether it is restrictive (necessary) or nonrestrictive (not necessary) and how they know. EXERCISE 2 After students have completed the exercise, you may wish to have them identify the appositive phrases. EXERCISE 3 Direct students to read each sentence, leaving out the appositive. Suggest that they ask
Before you begin, write the following model on the board: Who is Clark? My brother’s best friend
1.9
Ask students to think of a person, place, or thing in their home or school. Take turns as each student says his or her noun aloud. Ask students the question
Appositives An appositive is a word that follows a noun and explains its meaning. An appositive names the same person, place, or thing as the noun it explains. An appositive phrase is an appositive and its modifiers. In this sentence the noun site explains Sistine Chapel. It is an appositive. The Sistine Chapel, a famous site in the Vatican, was once called the Palatine Chapel.
Who is ? or What is ?
The appositive phrase a famous site in the Vatican is set off from the rest of the sentence by commas because the phrase is nonrestrictive. A nonrestrictive appositive or appositive phrase is not essential to the meaning of the sentence; it merely adds information. The appositive phrase above is not necessary in order to know which church was called the Palatine Chapel.
Point out that students have explained or modified the noun they chose. Read from a piece of writing that the class is currently reading. Emphasize appositives and appositive phrases.
Saint Peter’s Basilica
18 • Section 1.9
The apostle Peter is believed to be buried in the Vatican.
The appositive Peter is not set off by commas because it is restrictive. The name is necessary in order to know which apostle is buried in the Vatican.
TEACH Have students read silently the information on page 18. Point out that an appositive provides more information about a noun or pronoun. Explain that sometimes this information is necessary for understanding the sentence, and sometimes it just provides extra detail. Use the following sentence to show students how to determine whether to use commas with an appositive:
In this sentence the noun Peter explains apostle.
Read each sentence. Tell if the appositive is restrictive or nonrestrictive. Explain your answer in terms of meaning. Saint Peter’s Basilica, a huge church in Rome, is a popular tourist destination. The dome is the work of the Italian artist Michelangelo.
You are correct if you said that the appositive in the first sentence is nonrestrictive. The appositive gives more information about Saint Peter’s Basilica, but it is not necessary in order to understand the sentence. You are correct if you said that the appositive in the second sentence is restrictive. Without it, you would not know which Italian artist worked on the dome.
The dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica
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Section 1.9