apposition (apposisjon): expansion of a noun phrase, whereby a second noun phrase is added which has the same reference

as the first, but a different form. E.g. Tony Blair, the British prime minister; my youngest sister, Carrie; the most beautiful cottage, the place I always dreamt of owning. Sometimes a nominal clause can be in apposition to a noun phrase, if it defines or specifies the reference of the noun phrase. E.g. the fact that they cant afford it; their belief that nature is sacred. A second noun or noun phrase may be used to define or explain the first in any position in the sentence. In this case, the second noun or noun phrase is always separated off by commas. This construction may be replaced by a relative clause.Check to be sure the noun or noun phrase (adjective noun; noun prepositional phrase) redefines the previous one. When you are done, compare your new sentences with the sample combinations at the bottom of this page. Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions. 1. St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. St. Valentine was never married. 2. Monroe and I strolled through the graveyard. The graveyard is the most peaceful spot in town. 3. We were waiting outside the prison cells. The cells were a row of sheds fronted with double bars. The cells were like small animal cages. 4. My father was outside. My father was beneath the window. My father whistled for Reggie. Reggie was our English setter. 5. We saw the stream in the valley. The stream was black. The stream was halted. The stream was a tarred path through the wilderness. 6. The The The The We arrived at a group of peasant houses. group was small. houses were low yellow constructions. houses had dried-mud walls. houses had straw mats. A great many old people came. knelt around us. prayed. included old women with jet-black faces.

7. They They They

The women had braided hair. They included old men with work-gnarled hands. 8. One of the Cratchet girls had borrowed the books. She was a hatchet-faced girl. She was thin. She was eager. She was a transplanted Cockney. She had a frenzy for reading. 9. It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust. It was a place filled with laughter. It was filled with play. It was filled with pain. It was filled with hurt. It was filled with ghosts. It was filled with games. 10. I led a raid on the grocery. It was the grocery of Barba Nikos. The grocery was small. The grocery was shabby. Barba Nikos was old. Barba Nikos was short. Barba Nikos was sinewy. Barba Nikos was a Greek. Barba Nikos walked with a slight limp. Barba Nikos sported a flaring handlebar moustache.

Sample Combinations: 1. St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, was never married. 2. Monroe and I strolled through the graveyard, the most peaceful spot in town. 3. We were waiting outside the prison cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. (George Orwell, "A Hanging") 4. Outside beneath my window, my father whistled for Reggie, our English setter. 5. We saw the stream in the valley, black and halted, a tarred path through the wilderness. (Laurie Lee, "Winter and Summer")

6. We arrived at a small group of peasant houses, low yellow constructions with dried-mud walls and straw roofs. (Alberto Moravia, Lobster Land: A Traveler in China) 7. A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old women with jet-black faces and old men with work-gnarled hands. (Langston Hughes, "Salvation") 8. One of the Cratchet girls had borrowed the books, a hatchet-faced, thin, eager, transplanted Cockney girl with a frenzy for reading. (Wallace Stegner, Wolf Willow) 9. It was the kind of home that gathers memories like dust, a place filled with laughter and play and pain and hurt and ghosts and games. (Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream) 10. I led a raid on the small, shabby grocery of Barba Nikos, a short sinewy Greek who walked with a slight limp and sported a flaring, handlebar moustache. (Harry Mark Petrakis, Stelmark: A Family Recollection)