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Latest post Tue, Nov 3 2009 12:48 PM by Avangi. 5 replies.
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vcolts  +  960418 Tue, 03 Nov 09 05:44 AM
Sentence: I like your dogs, so cute.

 

Is it a grammatically correct usage of an appositive phrase?

 

Thanks in advance.

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Avangi  +  960444 Tue, 03 Nov 09 06:32 AM
Geez, I think so.  (I'd be more inclined to call it a parenthetical expression without parentheses.)


I'm not really an expert on these.  I don't usually see them at the end, but I can't say why not.


They usually represent the thing they stand for in a nominal way (rather than adjectival), so that gramatically, one could replace the other.  I don't think this works in your example.


I think I've read that the appositive must be a noun or a noun phrase.  I think that's what my dictionary says, in fact.


I like your dogs, big brutes.  "Brutes" is a noun; "dogs" is a noun.

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". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier
mohzayat  +  960445 Tue, 03 Nov 09 06:33 AM
hi dear

yes I think it is right

but I would like to add that it has something of abbreviation 

this is because it is spoken language

the sentence in full

I like your dogs,they are so cute.

                      thanks alot

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Avangi  +  960455 Tue, 03 Nov 09 06:41 AM
mohzayat
“I like your dogs,they are so cute. ”
   Hi, mohzayat.

This amounts to a "comma splice."  It needs either a conjunction or a semicolon.


I like your dogs because they are so cute.


I like your dogs; they are so cute. 


Best wishes,  - A.


Edit.  I wrote you a PM explaining why your salutation "hi dear" might be inappropriate, but after I had finished it, it got zapped, because you have opted not to receive PM's.


Your profile says you want to chat and exchange views.  Maybe you should check it out.


          


vcolts  +  960511 Tue, 03 Nov 09 08:16 AM
Avangi

I think I've read that the appositive must be a noun or a noun phrase.  I think that's what my dictionary says, in fact.

 

 

An appositive is a re-naming or amplification of a word that immediately precedes it. (An appositive, then is the opposite of an oppositive.) Frequently another kind of phrase will serve in apposition.

 

  • The best exercise, walking briskly, is also the least expensive. [Gerund phrase as appositive]

  • Tashonda's goal in life, to become an occupational therapist, is within her grasp this year, at last. [Infinitive phrase as appositive]
  •  

    From:

    http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm

     

    According to the above info, an appositive doesn't have to be a noun phrase.

     

    But accorinding to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/596/1, you are right.

     

    It is indeed confusing. I think the English language has too many extra rules. I know my case isn't what you would normally see. That's what gets me thesedays. I try to break down everything, even the simplest ones, grammar wise.

    Avangi  +  960670 Tue, 03 Nov 09 12:48 PM
    We had a poster (eddie) who spent a lot of time delving into appositives, pretty much on his own.  I recall that the term "noun phrase" seemed ambiguous at times.

    We name phrases sometimes for the type of word that "fronts" them (heads them), and sometimes for the way the phrase functions as a whole.

    So if an infinitive phrase functions as subject of the clause/sentence, you can call it a noun phrase. 

    To kill a dragon has always been my idea of a real adventure.

    My dream, to kill a dragon, has finally been realized.


    And of course "gerunds" always  function as nouns.    - A.

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