The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002
14.5. Apposition
Unit fourteen. Modifying
Sections 470-472; 397; 589; 593; 646
Two or more noun phrases which occur next to each other and refer to the same person or thing are said to be in apposition.
Just like relative clauses, appositions can be restrictive and non-restrictive.
Task one **
Rewrite the sentences so that the relative clause is replaced by a noun phrase in apposition to the person or thing referred to.
1. David Brown, who owns the garage across the road, has a good reputation.
2. Mrs Davies who is a teacher at the local school is loved by all the children.
3. Anne and Peter Austin, who are the executors of my aunt’s will, have retired and gone to live in New Zealand.
4. I once knew James Kane who was the star in last year’s Oscar-winning movie.
5. John Williams, who writes poetry, has won several prizes.
6. That building over there was designed by James Stirling who was a celebrated architect in the 1970s and 80s.
7. The production is by Richard Jones who directs both opera and theatre.
8. I always book my holidays at Compston’s which is the travel agency opposite the bank.
9. Impact 92 which is a language consultancy does a lot of work in Scandinavia.
10. Nokia which is now a mobile phone company started as a company selling rubber goods such as tyres.
Task two **
Look at the uses of apposition in the items below and decide whether they are restrictive (R) or non- restrictive (N-R) and make the appropriate changes to the punctuation.
1. A: David James has bought the house next door to mine.
B: Which David James? David James our old school friend or David James the dentist?
2. (on the phone) Hello! Is that Robert Hunt the builder?
3. I was at university with the actor James Marlow.
4. Barbara Castle the British socialist politician died on 2 May 2002.
5. One of my oldest friends is Keith Godard the New York-based graphic designer.
6. Your doctor John Beasley is retiring next year. Did you know?
Task three ***
Complete the text below with an appropriate expression to show explicit apposition. chiefly; especially; for example; for instance; in particular; mainly; namely; notably; particularly; such as
In the late 1940s, after the Second World War, there was a flowering of the film industry in many countries, ... (1) ... India, Italy and Japan. There were many good, young film directors, ... (2) ... in Italy, ... (3) ... De Sica, Rosselini and Visconti. Working as assistants for them were several young people who would later become directors of worldimportance, ... (4) ... Antonioni and Fellini. These directors established a clear identity for the Italian film, ... (5) ... the neo-realist cinema. In the same way, Asian film directors, ... (6) ... Kurosawa in Japan and Ray in India, established an identity for the Japanese and Indian cinema.