WEEK 4 – Phrases: Appositive, Restrictive, Infinitive
APPOSITIVES AND
APPOSITIVE PHRASES
Appositive: An appositive is always a noun. Usually it follows immediately after a noun,
is sometimes set off by commas, and renames or emphasizes the noun it follows. Appositives are the words or phrases that
explain or add information to the noun it follows. Appositives never contain verbs.
Examples:
· Barron’s, a publisher of books,
boasts of the finest employees.
· The Northfield Historical Society, a
local organization, gives tours at the museum.
One word “name” appositives
usually do not need commas, but there is a caution here. If there are more of the group, then no
commas are needed. In the example below,
if there are more brothers or sisters, you would not use commas to set apart
the appositive. No commas means restrictive; restrictive means that if
you take that element out of the sentence, the sentence changes its
meaning. The element is essential and
therefore no commas. Putting commas
around an appositive tells the readers that this part of the sentence is not
absolutely necessary or needed, but it does add to the information of the
sentence.
Example:
· My brother Mark lives in France
but works in Switzerland.
For the sake of variety, the
appositive might appear before the noun.
Examples:
· The owner of the gallery, Kevin Hanson, won a grant to fund a new art show.
· The most outstanding writing teacher, Mrs. Prichard, teaches three classes at CHAT.
RESTRICTIVE/
NONRESTRICTIVE
When you have nonrestrictive
(nonessential) elements in a sentence, set them off with commas. You must decide if the information is
essential or not. If the information is
essential to the meaning of the sentence, you have a restrictive phrase or
clause, and you do not use commas.
Examples:
· The little boy who was wearing the
blue sweater is lost. (this phrase contains important details)
· The little boy, who didn’t seem to
like his lunch, is lost. (this
phrase doesn’t add essential information to the main idea of the sentence)
The use of “that” implies a
restrictive (essential) phrase or clause, so no commas are needed.
Examples:
· People who live near Gus are
lucky because he shares from his garden. (restrictive, no commas)
· Cindy, who is my favorite cousin,
is a good writer. (nonrestrictive, use
commas)
· Grandma, wearing her bonnet and
Grandpa’s coveralls, should not spend too much time weeding the
garden. (nonrestrictive, use commas)
· People who like the beach are
hard to find. (restrictive, no commas)
· Restrooms that are dirty ought to
be illegal. (restrictive, no commas)
· The garden, which was beautiful,
contained many varieties of tomatoes.
(nonrestrictive, use commas)
INFINITIVE PHRASES
Infinitive Phrases: Infinitive phrases can be used
as three parts of speech: noun,
adjective, or adverb. An infinitive
phrase will begin with an infinitive (to + simple for of the verb). It may include direct objects and/or
modifiers
Examples:
· To finish her shift without spilling was Michelle’s only goal. (functions as a noun)
·
Connor
hopes to win the approval of his coach by showing up early for practice.
(functions as a noun)
·
The
best way to survive Mrs. Prichard’s class is counting backwards from 100
until class is over. (functions as an adjective)
·
Calvin,
an aspiring doctor, is taking British Literature to give himself a
well-rounded education. (functions as an adverb – “why”)
When
an infinitive phrase introduces a sentence and is followed by the main clause,
separate the sections with a comma.
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