What is the difference between an appositive and an adjective

Mammalian Brain Chemistry Explains Everything. Related Books Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Dry: A Memoir Augusten Burroughs. Related Audiobooks Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Empath Up! Views Total views. Actions Shares. No notes for slide. Appositive and adjective clause 1. Consider this sentence : - My friend Tim got married last week. It is nonrestrictive because the name Tim already identifies the person who got married 3.

Commas are not used with restrictive necessary appositives. Adjective clauses are clauses that modify nouns. They begin with the words who, whom, which, and sometimes that, among others.

Adjective clauses can be restrictive or nonrestrictive, just as appositive can. Use the same comma rule : - restrictive necessary : no commas - nonrestrictive unnecessary : use commas to separate the adjective clause from the rest of the sentence. For example : - Every culture in the world has special days that people observe with traditional food, customs, and events.

In this sentence, the clause that people observe with traditional food, customs, and events is an adjective clause that modifies the noun days. It is necessary to identify which days the writer discussing, the clause is restrictive and commas are not used.

That always introduces a restrictive clauses 6. In this sentence, the clause which is on October 31 is an adjective clause that modifies the noun Halloween. Therefore, commas are used to separate the clause from the rest of the sentence. Which, who, and whom introduce nonrestictive clauses. Here are some examples of appositives the noun or pronoun will be in blue , the appositive will be in red. An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.

In some cases, the noun being explained is too general without the appositive; the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence. When this is the case, do not place commas around the appositive; just leave it alone.

If the sentence would be clear and complete without the appositive, then commas are necessary; place one before and one after the appositive. Here we do not put commas around the appositive because it is essential information. Without the appositive, the sentence would be, "The popular US president was known for his eloquent and inspirational speeches. Here we put commas around the appositive because it is not essential information.

Without the appositive, the sentence would be, "John Kennedy was known for his eloquent and inspirational speeches. In that example, Mary is a named instance of the more general noun "friend". Adjectives, on the other hand, describe the noun they modify. Again going with the example, "My best friend, Mary, likes reading," best is an adjective which gives more information about the noun "friend", while "Mary" is an appositive naming a specific friend for the sake of clarification.

There are further ways to modify nouns; consider noun adjuncts, determiners, and intensive pronouns for example. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. In numerous fixed expressions, an adjective is placed immediately after the noun it governs: Examples : attorney-general, body politic, court martial.

These are to be distinguished from cases in which an adjective just happens to follow the noun it governs Adjectives are used in connection with nouns and pronouns. Examples : a green apple; She's hungry. The second element, the lexicographer, is appositive to the first, Sir James Murray. Reference-Fowler's Modern English Usage. Improve this answer. Misti Misti 1 1 gold badge 3 3 silver badges 11 11 bronze badges. Appositions can be derived from inserted explaining sentences which are shortened as 1a its name is Paris 2a it is the capital of France Of course, if you call everything that modifies a noun an adjective you can easily get confused.

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