Apposition extends the meaning of a word or phrase next to it. Words that are in apposition refer to each other. Most appositive units can be considered nonrestrictive clauses with the relative pronoun and the verb deleted. Appositive units may be classified as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. “Abraham Lincoln, (who was) the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated” is a noun appositive. “The crowd, (which was) anxious to escape danger, began to panic” is an adjective appositive. “The man shouted loudly, (which was) even frantically, to calm the crowd” is an adverb appositive.
A few appositives, called restrictive appositives, are an inseparable part of the word to which they are joined. Examples include “Alexander the Great” and “Winnie-the-Pooh. “
