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Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so one element identifies the other in a different way.The two elements are said to be in apposition, and one of the elements is called the appositive, but its identification requires consideration of how the elements are used in a sentence.
Traditionally the subject is the word or phrase which controls the verb in the clause, that is to say with which the verb agrees (John is but John and Mary are). If there is no verb, as in Nicola – what an idiot! , or if the verb has a different subject, as in John – I can't stand him! , then 'John' is not considered to be the grammatical ...
Phrase structure rules as they are commonly employed result in a view of sentence structure that is constituency-based. Thus, grammars that employ phrase structure rules are constituency grammars (= phrase structure grammars), as opposed to dependency grammars, [4] which view sentence structure as dependency-based. What this means is that for ...
A pair of commas can bracket an appositive, relative clause, or parenthetical phrase (as can brackets or dashes, though with greater interruption of the sentence). For example: For example: Correct:
In grammar, an appositive, a useful dependent noun or phrase or full clause such as this one, offers clarification or additional explanation in a condensed format. An appositive follows the word it explains, offset by commas. One 'way to identify an appositive is to ask the question: could this phrase replace the word next to it?
The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is both an appositive and a parenthesis. A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks. The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis. My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can still shield the two of us from the rain. The phrase which is somewhat broken is a parenthesis. Please, Gerald, come here!
This same conception can be found in subsequent grammars, such as 1878's A Tamil Grammar [8] or 1882's Murby's English grammar and analysis, where the conception of an X phrase is a phrase that can stand in for X. [9] By 1912, the concept of a noun phrase as being based around a noun can be found, for example, "an adverbial noun phrases is a ...
The following are examples of types of parenthetical phrases: Introductory phrase: Once upon a time, my father ate a muffin. [16] Interjection: My father ate the muffin, gosh darn it! Aside: My father, if you don't mind me telling you this, ate the muffin. Appositive: My father, a jaded and bitter man, ate the muffin.