Phrases

Miss CostantiniEnglish 1 and 3

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 These are the four categories of

phrases that we are studying: 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 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 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 PhrasesMy 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 PhrasesMy 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 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 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 In class, we will be practicing

identifying appositives, determining whether they are essential or nonessential, and punctuating them correctly.

Appositive Phrases We will also look at how to use

appositives to improve the basic sentence structure in your writing.

Appositive Phrases 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.