A Letter from Queen Elizabeth

March 19, 2013 Hello yuli, Tomorrow is the first day of spring, but you wouldn't guess it by looking at the snowy scene outside of my window. I love spring because it feels like a new beginning of life. New flowers emerge from the ground and delicate buds transform the trees. It's magical. I've been keeping busy with work and life. My brother-in-law recently got engaged, and I've been helping his bride-to-be shop for the perfect wedding dress. She found one this weekend, and I'm happy to report that she looks (and feels) radiant in it. I would show you a picture, but I can't risk it. If her fiancé saw it, I'd be in big trouble. Okay, let's talk grammar. In today's Grammar Time section , you'll learn about appositives. Do you, my dear reader, already know what they are? Happy Learning, Elizabeth O'Brien An Excellent Reference For You! The Sentence Diagramming Reference Manual will serve as an excellent reference tool for your classroom or personal use. Keep it handy during your grammar and sentence diagramming lessons. The alphabetical table of contents allows you to easily find grammatical concepts and see how to diagram them. It's awesome. Learn About Appositives Are you ready to learn about appositives? Great! Let's get started! Appositives Appositives are nouns or pronouns that rename other nouns or pronouns. My friend Marianne likes cupcakes. Marianne is an appositive. It is a noun that is renaming the noun friend. Diagram appositives in parenthesis right after the noun or pronoun that it renames. Appositive Phrases Appositives often have modifiers. When they do, the appositive and all of its modifiers are called an appositive phrase. Mrs. Johnson, my history teacher, likes chocolate. My history teacher is an appositive phrase. It is a group of words renaming the noun Mrs. Johnson. Diagram the appositive in parenthesis just after the noun or pronoun it renames, and diagram its modifiers underneath it. Punctuating Essential Appositives When the appositive provides essential information in the sentence, don't put commas around it. The author Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserable. Without that appositive, the sentence would read The author wrote Les Miserables. Notice that we need the appositive to make the meaning of the sentence clear. The statement is too general without it. The appositive is essential, and we don't put commas around it. Punctuating Nonessential Appositives When the appositive does not provide essential information, put commas around it. (This applies to most appositives.) Emily, the littlest girl, wore a white dress. Without that appositive, the sentence would read Emily wore a white dress. The appositive doesn't give us essential information. Because of this, it is nonessential, and we put commas around it. Read more about appositives here. _______________________________________________________________ Are you an educator? Feel free to use this information with your students. About Elizabeth Elizabeth O'Brien is founder of www.GrammarRevolution.com, a company devoted to teaching people around the world how to learn and love grammar. Through her website, books, and programs, Elizabeth shows how to teach and learn grammar the easy way. She's on a mission to inspire and motivate people by making grammar fun and friendly. If you liked today's issue, you'll love Elizabeth's grammar and sentence diagramming products, which will help you learn or teach grammar through simple, step-by-step instructions and sentence diagrams. Manage Your Subscription You are subscribed to Diagram It!. The back issues are at the following URL... http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/Diagram_It-backissues.html If you wish to remove yourself from this mailing, please click on the following URL... http://english-grammar-revolution.com/cgi-bin/mailout/mailmgr.cgi?us=LQ.21177090.28087440.2e63af580c012589972a14b35bb2bc33 (If the above URL is not a link, copy-and-paste the URL into your Web browser. That will confirm your removal.) To change your e-mail address, please click on the following URL... http://english-grammar-revolution.com/cgi-bin/mailout/mailmgr.cgi?ca=LQ.21177090.28087440.2e63af580c012589972a14b35bb2bc33 (If the above URL is not a link, copy-and-paste the URL into your Web browser. That will confirm your change.)