Question

Identify the appositive in the below sentence:
When he fell sick, he was treated by Mr. Thomas, the family doctor.
A. He fell sick
B. Dr. Thomas
C. The family doctor
D. Dr. Thomas, the family doctor

Answer 1

Hint: The term ‘appositive’ is derived from the word ‘apposition’, which means nearby, alongside, beside another word. An appositive term provides additional information about the noun that it is placed in apposition to.

Complete step by step answer:
Option a – He fell sick: This phrase describes the state of the person’s health and not much else. An appositive term cannot be seen here; hence this is not the right option.
Option b – Dr. Thomas: This option merely states the name of the doctor and nothing else, hence this is not an option too.
Option c – The family doctor: This option may be considered right because it gives additional information about Dr. Thomas.
Option d – Dr. Thomas, the family doctor: This is the exact answer if you have to choose between option c and option d, because the phrase ‘the family doctor’ gives additional information about Dr. Thomas.
As a sentence, it means that the person who fell sick was treated by Dr. Thomas; but an additional information about him is mentioned that he is not just a general doctor, but somebody who is an acquaintance to the rest of his family.

Thus, the correct option is C.

Note:
An appositive phrase can be identified easily if we try to understand the meaning of the full sentence and observe if there is anything beyond necessary information given in the statement. To put it simply, any phrase that just adds to the characteristic of the noun is an apposition.