aposición

Aposición is a grammatical term referring to a noun or noun phrase that renames or explains another noun or noun phrase. It is placed immediately after the noun it modifies, often separated by commas, and provides additional information or clarification. For example, in the sentence "My brother, the doctor, is coming to visit," the phrase "the doctor" is an appositive that renames and provides information about "my brother." Appositives can be restrictive or nonrestrictive. A restrictive appositive is essential to the meaning of the sentence and is not set off by commas, as in "My friend John is here." A nonrestrictive appositive provides extra, non-essential information and is typically set off by commas, as in "Paris, the capital of France, is a beautiful city." The function of an appositive is to add descriptive detail or identify a specific entity within a larger group without introducing a new clause. This grammatical structure helps to create more concise and informative sentences by avoiding repetitive phrasing or the need for separate sentences.