Apposition

1. Definition

Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases,

are placed side by side and 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.

Apposition is the process by which an item is given a second occurrence in another form;
we can see it as a form of reformulating such an item. We can also describe Apposition as the
relationship between two noun phrases; that is, the relationship between two usually contiguous
nouns or noun phrases that denote the same person or thing and have the same relationship to
other sentence elements.

2. Examples

„Îmi țin cuvântul de credință dat stăpânei mele, Dulcineea din Tobosso, răspunse Don Quijote”
(Cervantes, Don Quijote)

„Budulea, bătrânul, șchiopăta sprinten și pe mărunțite cu noi” (Ioan Slavici, Budulea Taichii)

„Eminescu, poetul național, a murit ca o flacără” (George Călinescu)

Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror of Persia, was one of the most successful
military commanders of the ancient world.

Her son, a doctor, practices in her friend’s hospital.

Barack Obama, the first Black President of America, spent two terms in office.

3. Types of Apposition
a) Restrictive apposition - provides information essential to identifying the phrase in
apposition. It limits or clarifies that phrase in some crucial way, such that the meaning of
the sentence would change if the appositive were removed. In English, restrictive
appositives are not set off by commas.

Examples: My friend Alice Smith likes jelly beans. (I have many friends, but I am
restricting my statement to the one named Alice Smith.)

He likes the television show The Simpsons. (There are many television shows, and he
likes that particular one.)
b) Non-restrictive apposition - provides information not critical to identifying the phrase in
apposition. It provides non-essential information, and the essential meaning of the
sentence would not change if the appositive were removed. In English, non-restrictive
appositives are typically set off by commas.
Examples:
Alice Smith, my friend, likes jelly beans. (The fact that Alice is my friend is not
necessary to identify her.)
I visited Canada, a beautiful country. (The appositive (that it is beautiful) is not needed to
identify Canada.

4. Comparisons between restrictive and non-restrictive apposition

Restrictive apposition Non-restrictive apposition

 Essential information;  Additionally
 Can’t be omitted; descriptive information
 No comma.  Can be omitted
 Use comma

5. Reference

Leech, G. (2006) A Glossary of English Grammar. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University

Press
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apposition