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Difficulty: HardNouns and Noun Phrases

Identify the grammatical function of the italicized noun phrase in the sentence below:

The vice-chancellor introduced Professor Adebayo, *an eminent scholar in African history*, before the commencement of the international symposium.

  1. Appositive modifying the direct object 'Professor Adebayo'Answer
  2. B
    Direct object of the transitive verb 'introduced'
  3. C
    Subject complement of the main clause
  4. D
    Prepositional complement to 'before'

Answer

Appositive modifying the direct object 'Professor Adebayo'
The phrase 'an eminent scholar in African history' is a noun phrase that immediately follows the noun phrase 'Professor Adebayo' to rename and provide descriptive details about him. Because it serves to re-identify the direct object within the clause, its syntactic function is an appositive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the main clause structure.
The subject is 'The vice-chancellor', the action verb is 'introduced', and the direct object receiving the action is 'Professor Adebayo'.
Identifying the primary clause elements establishes the core grammatical framework of the sentence.
2
Determine the relation of the target phrase to the direct object.
The noun phrase 'an eminent scholar in African history' is set off by commas and directly renames or describes 'Professor Adebayo'.
A noun phrase placed adjacent to another noun phrase to explain or specify its identity functions syntactically as an appositive.

Key Concept

Appositive Noun Phrases and Syntactic Functions
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Nouns and Noun Phrases

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