Appositives, Participial Phrases, Absolute Phrases

Appositive Phrase

What is an appositive?

Appositive Phrase Defined

Noun phrasesIdentify adjacent nouns or pronounsCan occur at beginning, middle, or end of sentence

Examples of appositives

Sentence openers: A fierce physical presence on the field, Marshawn Lynch is known for his “beast mode” and relentless pursuit of extra yards.

An annoying presence for many, Katy Perry’s shrill voice is the stuff of nightmares.

Appositives as verb splits

Johnny Manziel, a brash and contumacious fellow, warmed the bench quite admirably.

Hakeem Olajuwon, an indomitable force and legendary Houston Rocket, was known to all local fans as “Hakeem the Dream”.

Appositives as Sentence Closers

Their hard-fought existence was not unlike that described by Hobbes, a life nasty, brutish, and short.

Melville was a man of great ambition, a writer with intense focus and ironclad discipline.

The burger was massive, a monolith of meat.

Participial Phrase

What is it?

How does it differ from appositive phrase?

Participial Phrase definition

Uses both present and past participlesPresent participles are verb forms ending in “ing” (writing, swimming, sleeping, etc.) Past participles are verb forms ending in “ed” or “en” Describe nouns or pronouns

Participial Phrases as Sentence Openers

Scrambling into the bus, the students found their places hastily.

Sleeping on the floor, the old mutt was a veritable roadblock.

Shocked by the accident, the woman shrieked.

Subject-Verb Splits

Biggio, focused on the next pitch, maintained his equanimity despite the bad call.

My mother, complaining about my messy room, demonstrated great frustration.

Participial Phrases as Sentence Closers

The president stood proudly in front of the crowd, waving and winking at his amigos. I gestured to my mother, discombobulated and in need of her help.

The terrier dug maniacally for the rat, ripping through the earth and growling.

Absolute Phrase

Almost complete sentences

The “Absolute” TestOne can almost always form a complete sentence by inserting “was” or “were” into absolute phrase:

Absolute Phrases

Usually consist of a noun/pronoun AND a participle.

Absolutes as Sentence Openers

His face grief-stricken, he carried on through the mud. His book nestled in the crook of his arm, he walked nonchalantly into class. Her face burning with rage, she shouted curses at Miley Cyrus.

Absolute Phrases as Subject Verb Splits

My dog Rosco, his paws tearing asunder the earth, pursued the rat. The uncanny clown on a unicycle, his nose colored a violent shade of red, spooked out the children.

Beethoven, his eyes ablaze with ambition, set forth on a journey to Vienna.

Absolute Phrases as Sentence Closers

The Easter Bunny skulked about in the bushes, his pink paws tarnished by cow dung.

Achilles labored up the steps of the STEM building, his open bookbag coughing up French fries.