Similarities and Differences between the Close and Loose Apposition in English

Kim, Jong-Bok. 2014. Similarities and Differences between the Close and Loose Apposition in English. English Language and Linguistics 20.3, 79-98. English introduces two different types of nominal apposition: close and loose apposition.These two types of apposition share many grammatical properties, but at the same time behave differently in many respects. The loose apposition construction is a head-modifier structure in which the appositive, functioning as a modifier, also evokes an independent message linked to the conversational implicature. Meanwhile, the close apposition construction is a modifier-head structure in which the head is a proper noun requiring a definite specifier. This paper shows that the grammatical similarities and differences between these two can be followed from a Construction Grammar view