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{{Short description|Modifying noun phrases by placing them next to each other}}
{{about|the grammatical construction}}
{{distinguish|text=[[dislocation (syntax)|dislocation]]s, an apposition-like structure whose elements are not placed side by side|opposition (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|adposition}}
'''Apposition''' is a [[grammatical]] construction in which two elements, normally [[noun phrasephrases]]s, are placed side by side, withso one element serving to identifyidentifies the other in a different way;. theThe two elements are said to be ''in apposition''., Oneand one of the elements is called the '''appositive''', althoughbut its identification requires consideration of how the elements are used in a sentence.▼
 
For example, in the twothese sentences below, the phrases ''Alice Smith'' and ''my sister'' are in apposition, with the appositive identified with italics:▼
▲'''Apposition''' is a [[grammatical]] construction in which two elements, normally [[noun phrase]]s, are placed side by side, with one element serving to identify the other in a different way; the two elements are said to be ''in apposition''. One of the elements is called the '''appositive''', although its identification requires consideration of how the elements are used in a sentence.
 
▲For example, in the two sentences below, the phrases ''Alice Smith'' and ''my sister'' are in apposition, with the appositive identified with italics:
* My sister, ''Alice Smith'', likes jelly beans.
* Alice Smith, ''my sister'', likes jelly beans.
 
Traditionally, appositionsappositives were called by their [[Latin language|Latin]] name ''appositio'', although the English form is now more commonly used. It is derived from the Latin: ''ad'' ("near") and ''positio'' ("placement"), although the English form is now more commonly used.
 
Apposition is a figure of speech of the [[scheme (linguistics)|scheme]] type, and often results when the verbs (particularly verbs of being) in supporting clauses are eliminated to produce shorter descriptive phrases. ThisThat makes them often function as [[hyperbaton]]s, or figures of disorder, because they can disrupt the flow of a sentence. For example, in the phrase: "My wife, a nursesurgeon by training, ...", it is necessary to pause before the parenthetical modification "a nursesurgeon by training".
 
==Restrictive versus non-restrictive==
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<!-- linked from redirect [[Restrictive appositive]] -->
 
A '''restrictive appositive''' provides information essential to identifying the phrase in apposition. It limits or clarifies that phrase in some crucial way, andsuch that the meaning of the sentence would change if the appositive were removed. In English, restrictive appositives are not set off by [[comma (punctuation)|comma]]s. The sentences below use restrictive appositives. Here and elsewhere in this section, the relevant phrases are marked as the ''appositive phrase''<sup>A</sup> or the ''phrase in apposition''<sup>P</sup>.
* ''My friend''<sup>P</sup> ''Alice Smith''<sup>A</sup> likes jelly beans. <small>– I have many friends, but I am restricting my statement to the one named Alice Smith.</small>
* He likes ''the television show''<sup>P</sup> ''The Simpsons''<sup>A</sup>. <small>– There are many television shows, and he likes that particular one.</small>
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* ''My brother''<sup>P</sup> ''Nathan''<sup>A</sup> is here. <small>– Restrictive: I have several brothers, and the one named Nathan is here.</small>
* ''My brother''<sup>P</sup>, ''Nathan''<sup>A</sup>, is here. <small>– Non-restrictive: I have only one brother and, as an aside, his name is Nathan.</small>
If there is any doubt that the appositive is non-restrictive, it is safer to use the restrictive formpunctuation.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} In the example above, the restrictive first sentence is still correct even if there is only one brother.
 
A [[restrictiveness|relative clause]] is not always an appositive.
* ''My sister''<sup>P</sup>, ''Alice Smith''<sup>A</sup>, likes jelly beans. <small>– The appositive is the noun phrase ''Alice Smith''.</small>
* ''My sister''<sup>P</sup>, ''a doctor whose name is Alice Smith''<sup>A</sup>, likes jelly beans. <small>– The appositive is the noun phrase with dependent relative clause ''a doctor whose name is Alice Smith''.</small>
* My sister, whose name is Alice Smith, likes jelly beans. <small>– There is no appositive. There is a relative clause: ''whose name is Alice Smith''.</small>
 
More examples:
[[Zero article]]:
* The English writer Agatha Christie, ''author'' of nearly a hundred mystery novels and stories, was born in 1891.
 
==Examples==
{{Multiple issues|section=yes|
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* I was born in [[Finland]], ''[[Lakes in Finland|the land of a thousand lakes]]''. <small>– Appositives are not limited to describing people.</small>
* [[Barry Goldwater]], ''the junior [[U.S. Senator from Arizona|senator from Arizona]]'', received the [[1964 Republican Party presidential primaries|Republican nomination in 1964]]. <small>– Clarifies who Barry Goldwater is.</small>
* JohnRen and BobStimpy, ''both friends of mine'', are starting a band. <small>– Provides context on my relation to JohnRen and BobStimpy.</small>
* [[Alexander the Great]], ''the Macedonian conqueror of Persia'', was one of the most successful military commanders of the ancient world. <small>– Substantiates the sentence's predicate.</small>
* [[DeanAretha MartinFranklin]], ''a very popular singer'', will be performing at the [[SandsWhite HotelHouse]]. <small>– Explains why DeanAretha MartinFranklin is performing at that venue.</small>
* You are better than anyone, ''anyone I've ever met''. <small>– Provides additional strength to the phrase.</small>
* ''A staunch supporter of democracy'', RobAnn campaigned against the king's authoritarian rule. <small>– Indicates the reason for RobAnn's actions.</small>
 
A kind of appositive is the [[false title]], is a kind of restrictive phraseappositive, as in "''Noted biologist'' Jane Smith has arrived".", whereHere the phrase ''Notednoted biologist'' isappears usedwithout an article as anif informalit were a title. The usegrammatical correctness of false titles is [[False title#Controversy|controversial]].
 
Appositive phrases can also serve as definitions:
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==Appositive genitive==
In several languages, the same syntax that is used to express such relations as possession can also be used appositively. Examples include:
 
* In English:
** "Appositive oblique", a prepositional phrase with ''of'' as in: ''the month of December'', ''the sin of pride'', or ''the city of New York''. ThisThat has also been invoked as an explanation for the [[English possessive#Double genitive|double genitive]]: ''a friend of mine''.<ref>Chapter 5, §14.3 (pages 447–448), Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum, ''The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-521-43146-8}}</ref>
** The ending ''-'s'' as in "''[[In Dublin's Fair City]]".'', Thiswhich is uncommon.
* In classicalClassical Greek:
** "Genitive of explanation" as in {{lang-grlangx|italic=yesel|ὑὸς μέγα χρῆμα|hyòs méga chrêma}}, "a monster (great affair) of a boar" ([[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories of Herodotus]], 1.36);, where ὑὸς, the word for ''boar'' is inflected for the genitive singular<ref>§1322 (pages 317–318), [[Herbert Weir Smyth]], revised by Gordon M. Messing, ''Greek Grammar'', Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1956 [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0007&query=head%3D%23366 Perseus Digital Library]</ref>
* In Japanese:
** Postpositive ''no'' as in: {{lang-langx|ja|italic=yes|ふじの山|Fuji no Yama|[[Mount Fuji#Variations|the Mountain of Fuji]]}};<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/nounparticles|title=Noun-related Particles {{!}} Learn Japanese|website=www.guidetojapanese.org|access-date=2016-05-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A dictionary of basic Japanese Grammar|publisher=The Japan Times|year=1986|isbn=4-7890-0454-6|location=|pages=312}}</ref>
* In Biblical Hebrew:
**[[Hebrew grammar#Noun construct|Construct]], "genitive of association" as in: {{lang-langx|he|גַּן עֵדֶן|Gan 'Ēden}}, "the ''[[Garden of Eden]]''."<ref>§9.5.3h (p. 153), [[Bruce K. Waltke]] and [[Michael Patrick O'Connor]], ''An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax'', Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990. {{ISBN|0-931464-31-5}}</ref>
 
==See also==
* [[Figure of speech]]
* [[Hyperbaton]]
* [[Parenthesis (rhetoric)|Parenthesis]]▼
* [[Literary device]]
▲* [[Parenthesis (rhetoric)|Parenthesis]]
 
==Notes==
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==External links==
{{wiktionary|apposition}}
* [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0001%3Asmythp%3D282 Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, §282]
* [https://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/appositio.htm Audio illustrations] at AmericanRhetoric.com
* [http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm Appositives] at chompchomp.com
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* [[Purdue OWL]]: [https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/596/01/ Appositives]
* [https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-540-74628-7_38 Appositions Versus Double Subject Sentences&nbsp;– What Information the Speech Analysis Brings to a Grammar Debate]
 
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Rhetoric]]
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