When is something that looks like an appositive not an appositive?

Because the SAT will be given on Saturday, I want to point out a grammar problem that might confuse students.  I call it “nonappositives” though there is no such word.  First let me define terms.

An appositive follows the noun it describes.  It is surrounded by commas.  It can be removed from the sentence and the sentence still makes sense.  It can be thought of as a nonessential part of a sentence.  For example,

“Mrs. Smith, my English teacher, speaks three languages.”  In this sentence, “my English teacher” is the appositive.  It describes “Mrs. Smith.”  “My English teacher” can be removed from the sentence and the sentence will still make sense.  “My English teacher” is nonessential information in the sentence, and therefore it is surrounded by commas.

A nonappositive (no such word) also follows a noun.  It is not surrounded by commas.  It cannot be removed from a sentence or the sentence no longer makes sense.  It can be thought of as an essential part of a sentence.  For example,

“Taylor Swift’s song “Love Story” refers to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.”  In this sentence, “Love Story” is the nonappositive.  Like an appositive it follows a noun (song).  But it cannot be removed from the sentence for the sentence to make sense.  Because it is essential information, “Love Story” is not surrounded by commas.

On the writing part of the SAT, you might be given four options for including commas or not including them.  The “Love Story” options might be

1. No change (Keep the sentence as it is written above.)
2. “Love Story,”
3. “Love Story”,
4. Love Story,

Here are some other nonappositives:

Frank Sinatra’s album No One Cares is his saddest collection of songs.  (You can’t remove the name of the album and have a sentence that makes sense.)

Nixon the diplomat is more respected by historians than Nixon the politician.  (You can’t remove “the diplomat” or “the politician” and have the sentence make sense.)

Former Mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani was once a federal prosecutor.  (You can’t remove the man’s name and have a sentence that makes sense.)

The novel Emma is Jane Austen’s most satirical.  (You can’t remove Emma and have a sentence that makes sense.)

Good luck on the test.