Miscellaneous Topics
Contact Information

This site uses the
Oxford English dictionary spelling

The Writing Centre

Moriset Hall
Room 0036 Ottawa, ON
Canada K1N 6N5

No telephone writing help available
Tel.: 613 562-5800 ext. 2267

No online writing help available
E-mail:
writcent@uOttawa.ca

 

Apposition

When two words, clauses, or phrases stand close together and share the same part of the sentence, they are in apposition and are called appositives.

In fact, an appositive is very much like a subject complement, only without the linking verb:

subject complement
My brother is a research associate.
appositive
My brother the research associate works at a large polling firm.
subject complement
Jean became a magistrate.
appositive
I have never met Jean the magistrate.

 

Written by David Megginson

 

© University of Ottawa
For additional information, consult our list of contacts.
Last updated: 2007.08.16