What is an apposition?

Definition
	An apposition is a construction consisting of two or more adjacent units that have identical referents.

Examples (English)
	My friend John This excuse, that you didn’t get the word, is a poor one

Generic
	An apposition is a kind of
	What is a construction?

Sources
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 17
	Pei and Gaynor 1954 16
	Crystal 1985 20
	Mish 1991 97
	Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 1260, 1300–1301

Context for this page:

Concept module: apposition
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): A
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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