Apposition places a second noun phrase beside an earlier phrase to rename or explain the same referent: Karlo, nia nova kasisto, refers to one person in two ways. Traditional grammar calls this apposition; PMEG uses the Esperanto term apudmeto. In speech, a supplementary apposition is normally separated by pauses; in writing, commas or dashes mark those boundaries.
The central grammatical rule is simple but important: a true apposition has the same sentence role as the phrase it renames. When the first phrase takes accusative -n, the apposition takes it too. Two nearby constructions—an identifying name and a predicate complement—look similar but follow different case rules.
One referent, two noun phrases
In a true apposition, either phrase can in principle identify the same participant.
Karlo, nia nova kasisto, laboras hodiaŭ.
Karlo, our new cashier, is working today.
Mi renkontis Karlon, nian novan kasiston, antaŭ la vendejo.
I met Karlo, our new cashier, in front of the shop.
This minimal contrast changes the person from subject to direct object. In the first sentence, both Karlo and nia nova kasisto are subject expressions and have no -n. In the second, Karlon and nian novan kasiston are both accusative because they are two descriptions of the same object of renkontis.
The endings inside the appositional noun phrase remain regular. Kasisto has the stable root kas- plus the profession-forming -ist- and noun -o. Its adjective agrees for case: nova kasisto → novan kasiston.
The examples below extend the same rule to plural phrases, identifying names, and predicative complements.
Plural and number agreement
An apposition has the number required by its own meaning. A plural phrase renamed as several people normally receives plural -j, and it also receives -n if the shared role is accusative.
La volontuloj, tri lokaj studentoj, organizis la koncerton.
The volunteers, three local students, organized the concert.
Ni dankis la volontulojn, tri lokajn studentojn, post la koncerto.
We thanked the volunteers, three local students, after the concert.
The numeral tri stays unchanged. Lokaj studentoj carries plural -j; when the entire pair is the object, it becomes lokajn studentojn. English marks neither plural agreement on “local” nor object case on “students,” so English speakers often mark only the first Esperanto phrase and forget the second.
An apposition need not repeat the same vocabulary or structure. It can classify a person, explain an object, or summarize an event.
La kunveno, longa diskutado pri la buĝeto, finiĝis post noktomezo.
The meeting, a long discussion about the budget, ended after midnight.
Here kunveno and longa diskutado present one event from different perspectives. The -ad- form conceptualizes sustained activity and is singular because one stretch of discussion is meant. Several separate discussions could be diskutadoj, but the plural depends on meaning, not on the presence of many participants.
Supplementary apposition and punctuation
A supplementary apposition adds parenthetical information. Commas are the neutral choice in ordinary prose; dashes can give the explanation greater rhetorical weight. The punctuation corresponds to audible pauses.
Mia plej juna frato, Leono, translokiĝos al Gento en Junio.
My youngest brother, Leono, will move to Ghent in June.
La lasta trajno — nia sola eblo reveni hodiaŭ — foriros post dek minutoj.
The last train—our only way to return today—will leave in ten minutes.
Punctuation can change the informational structure. Mia frato, Leono, presents Leono as supplementary identification of an already identifiable brother. Mia frato Leono uses Leono restrictively to identify which brother. That second pattern is an identifying description, not a comma-marked true apposition in the narrow PMEG analysis.
Identifying names do not copy accusative -n
After a common noun, a directly attached proper name or title can identify which person, city, language, month, or work is intended: la urbo Parizo, la lingvo Esperanto, mia amiko Karlo. This construction normally has no pause or comma. Crucially, the identifying expression does not copy accusative -n from the head noun.
Mi vizitis la urbon Parizo dum mia unua vojaĝo al Francio.
I visited the city of Paris during my first trip to France.
Ĉu vi konas mian amikon Karlo? — Ne, sed mi konas lian fratinon.
Do you know my friend Karlo? — No, but I know his sister.
Ni diskutis la romanon La Hobito en la legoklubo.
We discussed the novel The Hobbit in the book club.
The object heads are urbon, amikon, and romanon. The attached identifiers Parizo, Karlo, and La Hobito remain without object -n. This is a foundational contrast in standard usage:
- Mi renkontis Karlon, nian kasiston. — true supplementary apposition; both phrases are accusative
- Mi renkontis nian kasiston Karlo. — identifying name; only the head phrase is accusative
Do not decide by translation alone. English often uses the same word order and punctuation ambiguously; Esperanto case reveals which structure the writer has chosen.
Predicate complements are not appositions
A noun after esti, fariĝi, nomi, or verbs of choosing and appointing can describe a subject or object through the verb. This is a predicate complement, not a second noun phrase with the same case. A predicative noun normally has no accusative -n.
Post la voĉdono Marta fariĝis prezidanto.
After the vote, Marta became president.
La membroj elektis ŝin prezidanto de la asocio.
The members elected her president of the association.
In the second sentence, ŝin is the object. Prezidanto states the role assigned to her, so it remains non-accusative. Compare true apposition: La membroj elektis Martan, sian plej spertan kandidaton. Here sian plej spertan kandidaton renames the person elected and therefore shares her accusative role.
Apposition does not create English-style noun modifiers
English freely places one noun before another in phrases such as “language teacher” and “city park.” Esperanto generally uses an adjective, a prepositional phrase, or a compound: lingva instruisto, instruisto de lingvoj, lingvoinstruisto; urba parko, parko de la urbo. Apposition is not a license to place two unrelated bare nouns together.
Nia lingvoinstruisto, s-ro Almeida, proponis novan konversacian kurson.
Our language teacher, Mr. Almeida, proposed a new conversation course.
The compound lingvoinstruisto names one type of teacher. The following s-ro Almeida renames that teacher. Those are two different grammatical relationships.
Common Mistakes
1. Marking only the first half of an accusative apposition. A true renaming phrase shares the object role.
❌ Mi renkontis Karlon, nian novan kasisto.
Incorrect — the apposition also requires accusative agreement.
✅ Mi renkontis Karlon, nian novan kasiston.
I met Karlo, our new cashier.
2. Adding accusative -n to an attached identifying name. The common-noun head carries the case.
❌ Mi vizitis la urbon Parizon.
Incorrect in the identifying-name construction — Parizo does not copy the head noun’s -n.
✅ Mi vizitis la urbon Parizo.
I visited the city of Paris.
3. Giving a predicate role noun object case. It describes the object through the verb rather than renaming an object phrase.
❌ Ili elektis Aminan prezidanton.
Incorrect for ‘They elected Amina president’ — prezidanto is predicative.
✅ Ili elektis Aminan prezidanto.
They elected Amina president.
4. Forgetting plural inside a plural apposition. The second phrase must express its actual number.
❌ Ni dankis la volontulojn, tri loka studento.
Incorrect — three students require plural marking and shared accusative case.
✅ Ni dankis la volontulojn, tri lokajn studentojn.
We thanked the volunteers, three local students.
5. Copying an English noun+noun sequence. Build a compound or mark the relationship.
❌ Ŝi estas sperta lingvo instruisto.
Incorrect — the two bare nouns do not form an apposition or a marked modifier.
✅ Ŝi estas sperta lingvoinstruisto.
She is an experienced language teacher.
Key Takeaways
- A true apposition renames the same referent and shares the first phrase’s sentence role.
- Accusative and plural endings appear throughout an appositional noun phrase when its role and meaning require them.
- Supplementary appositions are normally set off by pauses and commas or dashes.
- A directly attached identifying name stays without copied -n: la urbon Parizo.
- Predicate complements such as elektis ŝin prezidanto are non-accusative and are not appositions.
Now practice Esperanto
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Noun Phrase AnatomyA1 — How determiners, numbers, adjectives, an -o head noun, and postmodifiers combine into a complete Esperanto noun phrase.
- Proper NamesA2 — How Esperanto proper names behave as definite noun phrases, take case and number, and interact with articles and titles.
- Names, Titles, and Honorific NounsB1 — How personal names combine with regular Esperanto title nouns, articles, number, case, and direct address.
- Predicative Complements and the AccusativeB1 — Distinguish Esperanto predicative complements from accusative objects and attributive modifiers, especially in clauses that describe an object.