Positively appositive...

Hello classmates! What a busy week it has been. I hope that you're all enjoying the lovely changes in weather that autumn has ushered in, even though it has been a bit on the chilly side. I, like many of you, learned much from the topical guide of "When Words Collide," and also enjoyed a thorough review of other concepts that I already understood. I love that it is a practically complete guide to all things grammar, and that it is easy to navigate.

One thing that I learned this week in my reading was the term "appositive." To give you all a refresher, I'll throw in the definition. As stated in the text on page 179, "Appositive is a word, phrase or clause that renames or adds information about the word that precedes it. Words in apposition have a side-by-side relationship. They are important to identify because they have some bearing on punctuation and case decisions." In other words, appositives are words adding clarity and sometimes definition to the preceding it in the sentence. I never knew what these common little helpers were called, though I've certainly used them often in my writing.

There are two kinds of appositives; restrictive, and non-restrictive. One must never use a comma when working with a restrictive appositive, because the absence of the comma clarifies the meaning.

My friend Alisa made me a blanket last year for my birthday. 

In this sentence, Alisa is the restrictive appositive. It is restrictive because I have multiple friends, so I'm using the appositive to clarify which friend made me the blanket.

When using a non-restrictive appositive, one must use a comma. This is because the appositive is not essential and is only in the sentence to provide further meaning. Like a non-essential phrase, a non-restrictive appositive is set off by a comma.

My fiancé, Trevin, cleaned up the kitchen tonight while I worked on this blog post. 

As I only have one fiancé, it is not necessary for me to provide Trevin's name to distinguish him. However, because I am choosing to provide his name, setting it off by a comma shows that I only have one fiancé, and I'm choosing to name him.

I hope this was an enlightening lesson on appositives, and that you all learned more than you could even must from the quizzes and lessons this week! Best wishes to you all!