Level: B2

Nouns as Appositives — Practice

Find the noun placed beside another noun to rename or identify it. Includes the difference between restrictive (no commas) and non-restrictive (with commas) appositives, the simple “remove and re-read” test, and 35+ click-to-hear example sentences.

📝 Nouns unit · lesson 7 of 14 ⏱ about 10 minutes 🔊 every example has audio

Builds on Noun as the Subject Next in unit Object of the Preposition →

Appositives — quick guide

An appositive is a noun (or noun phrase) placed right next to another noun to rename, identify, or add information about it.

My brother, Tom, is an excellent cook. (Tom = appositive; renames “my brother”)
That city, Paris, is full of history.
Our cat, Milo, sleeps all day.

Restrictive vs. non-restrictive

Appositives come in two flavors depending on whether the extra information is essential to the sentence:

Non-restrictive (extra info, set off by commas): the sentence still makes sense if you remove the appositive.
My brother, Tom, is a cook. (I only have one brother — Tom is extra info)
Restrictive (essential — no commas): the appositive is needed to identify which one.
My brother Tom is a cook. (I have several brothers — Tom tells you which one)

🎯 The “remove and re-read” test

If you can remove the noun phrase between commas and the sentence still makes complete sense, that phrase is a non-restrictive appositive.

Peter’s father, Mr. Smith, helped me with my homework. → remove “Mr. Smith” → “Peter’s father helped me with my homework.” ✓ → appositive
Our cat Milo sleeps all day. → remove “Milo” → “Our cat sleeps all day.” ✓ → restrictive appositive

Watch out: when the structure is NAME, [description], … (like Tom, my brother, is here.), the SUBJECT is the first noun (Tom) and the APPOSITIVE is the second (my brother) — even though it’s lowercase. Position decides the role, not capitalization.

📖 Want the full explanation with restrictive vs non-restrictive comma rules? See English Nouns → Appositives on the main grammar page.

Non-restrictive (with commas) — appositive renames the noun before it
Our cat, Milo, sleeps all day.
That country, Japan, is known for cherry blossoms.
Her brother, Tom, won the spelling bee.
Peter’s father, Mr. Smith, helped me with my homework.
My brother, Sasha, is the best person in the world.
Our teacher, Mr. Smith, loves grammar.
Her favorite flowers, roses, don’t grow well in our area.
John Kennedy, the president, was known for his eloquence.
The team chose one person, Mike, to organize the banquet.
My cousin, Alex, plays the guitar beautifully.
Our pet dog, Buddy, loves chasing squirrels.
The capital of France, Paris, attracts millions of tourists.
Her son, Jacob, joined the soccer team.
Non-restrictive (with commas) — appositive is a description
The bird, a bright yellow canary, sang in the cage.
The car, an old Chevy, still runs smoothly.
The building, a tall skyscraper, overlooks the park.
My sister’s car, a green Lamborghini, was stolen yesterday.
The book, a rare first-edition novel, is locked in a glass case.
That man, an experienced pilot, explained the flight plan.
The car, a red Toyota, is parked outside.
The movie, a classic thriller, kept everyone on edge.
Restrictive (no commas) — appositive is essential
My aunt Lucy bakes the best cookies.
Peter’s sister Sandy left the room quietly.
My friend Mike will come to the concert.
My best friend Mike is from Minnesota.
The character John appears at the end of the book.
That story was loosely based on the popular American film Alien.
Police officer Smith told Mike to file a report.
My neighbor Emily brings us fresh bread every week.
My coworker Anna speaks three languages fluently.
The river Nile flows north.
Appositive can come first too — name + description
Sasha, my brother, is the best person in the world.
Mike, my best friend, is from Minnesota.
Two appositives in one sentence
My friend Carlos, a skilled chef, cooked dinner for us.
The student Liam, a top performer, won the award.
Our friend George, an engineer, helped fix the roof.
Sandy, an artist and comic, recently visited my friend Mike.

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