Writing gives you a chance to share your perception, thoughts and ideas with other people. On the other hand, writing is fun as it helps to express yourself more freely. Most of us start writing as a mere hobby. But if you want to make a serious career as a writer, a lot of brainstorming is required. You need to be aware of most grammatical rules and their proper uses at the right places. Using correct expressions can communicate ideas to your audience in the correct manner. Sometimes, when you frame a sentence you provide unnecessary details in it.

Like for example: Netra, my friend, has just completed her college.

This sentence looks normal when read. But, grammatically it may not be sound. Have you heard something called appositives? It does sound similar to opposites but has no relation with it. Let’s get started with what exactly is appositive.

What are appositives?

An appositive is a noun or a noun phrase which generally explains or modifies the noun besides it. So basically, an appositive provides extra information. But it is not necessary that the information is  extra , sometimes the information is essential. It’s you, who has to decide and understand whether the information is essential or extra.

Examples:

My friend, Pintu, is very happy.
My sister's necklace, which is gold plated and diamond studded, is the envy of my friends.
A cute pug, April, was my Ram’s favorite dog.

How to identify appositives?

It is very easy to identify appositives. An appositive which is not required to complete the meaning of a sentence can be separated with a comma. Whereas, a sentence which requires an appositive to complete its meaning need not be accompanied with a comma.

Examples:

My neighbor’s bike, a black royal Enfield, was stolen last Tuesday.
Police officer Mr. Desai told my neighbor to file a report about his stolen bike.

From the above two examples you can easily make out which one is an essential information and which is one is not. In the first example, a black royal Enfield is unnecessary information and hence is separated with a comma.

However, appositives are an essential part of English writing. It can be easily overused in a sentence which can make it cluttered and confusing. Learn all about appositives and improve your English to use it in necessary places. You can join a Spoken English course and develop your writing skills and pursue your hobby as a career.

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