Two nouns are sometimes used side by side to State the person or thing in two different ways. In this way the person or thing is more clearly defined. look at the example- 'Haruna, the football captain, was running up the field'. Here, 'Haruna' and 'the football captain' are the same people. We now have two pieces of information about him, first his name and secondly his position. We say that these two nouns are in apposition.
Here are some more examples:
(i) Th President, a highly respected man, made a long speech.
(ii) Yams, climbing plants with edible tubers, grow well in tropics.
(iii) Venus, the evening star, shines very brightly.
(iv) I gave it to James, the head boy.
(v) She gave him a pawpaw, a very delicious fruit.
Notice the punctuation in each example a comma before and after the second noun or noun phrase, unless it ends the sentence. In that case the comma after is replaced by the usual full stop.
revision questions
A
Copy out the nouns used in apposition with the words written with capital letter in the sentence.
example: MY FRIEND, a mischievous boy, crept up behind the teacher's chair.
Answer: 'boy' is in apposition to 'my friend'
a. THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION, a man, was not sympathetic.
b. i sent my reply to THE SECRETARY, Mr. Johnson.
c. THE GOVERNMENT PAPER, advance has a large circulation.
d. THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE, failure, was impossible.
e. i was easily able to see THE BIRD, a hornbill, swaying on a branch
B
now supply the noun used in apposition to fill the blanks in these sentences:
a. Mrs. James, ......, has been busy making cloths for her children.
b. The snake was killed by James, ........
c. He said he would give me the present, a ......, the next day.
d. Fatima, ........, has been doing well.
e. i gave the news to ........, the elder of the two men .
C
In each of these sentences supply a noun or a group of words containing a noun in apposition to the words in capital letter.
example: table-tennis, a popular game, does not need much equipment.
'game' is the noun in apposition to 'table-tennis' but it is part of a group of words, 'a popular game', which l, taken together, act as a noun in apposition. This group of words is called a phrase.
a. PELE, ......., has been acclaimed as the world's greatest footballer.
b. JAMES, ......., was unanimously elected.
c. i gave the bread to JAMES, .........
d. NIGERIA, .........., depends largely on oil exports.
e. she has always longed to visit NEW YORK, ......
D
(i)complete the following sentences by supplying a suitable noun
(ii) State the function of the noun
a. i don't like his proud ......
b. All the. .... for the soup have been bought.
c. The newspaper man sent in his ......... to the editor.
d. The helicopter made an emergency. ....... on the football field.
e. Mr. James gave. ...... the message from his uncle.
you Will get the Answers in my next post Even in that of my last post thanks