The Chicago Manual of Style defines an appositive as follows:

[An appositive is] a noun that immediately follows another noun or noun phrase in order to define or further identify it {George Washington, our first president, was born in Virginia}.

The sentence below illustrates the strange results that occur when an appositive is in the wrong place:

John appeared before Christina, a slender, bearded man with horn-rimmed glasses.

The appositive is “a slender, bearded man with horn-rimmed glasses.” Because of its placement, this sentence tells us that Christina is a slender, bearded man with horn-rimmed glasses.

To fix it, move the appositive:

John, a slender, bearded man with horn-rimmed glasses, appeared before Christina.

Question? Comment?

Cheers,

Tara Treasurefield

Treasurefield Communications