Ronald,
There is no such thing as apparent voltage. Voltage is real. Current is real. However, when you combine these two and they are out of phase, then you end up with real and apparent power due to the displacement of the waveforms. Voltage without a current can do no real work. Likewise, current without a voltage can do no real work. Only when the two exist at the same time can real work be accomplished.
There aren't very many good analogies for this because they can be fraught with problems, but consider moving a block of ice from point A to point B. The path from A to B is considered your goal, and constitutes real work. You push on the block towards the B-direction. You are performing real work toward your goal. However, if you have someone else pushing sideways on the block perpendicular to your desired path, they are not helping you out. They are not doing any real work to meet your goal. They will move the block, but not in the direction of your goal, so it is not real work to meet your goal. When you combine both of these "pushes" into a single diagonal push, only the component of this diagonal push that is in the direction of your goal, constitutes real work--that is your powerfactor.
This displacement between current and voltage is the result of delays within the devices to react to either their input current or input voltage. When you charge a capacitor, for example, it takes time for this build-up of charge (current) onto the plates for the voltage to be present across the plates. Because the voltage across a capacitor requires a build-up of charge on the plates (or a dissipation of charge), the voltage across a capacitor cannot change in an infinitely short period (it takes time to move this charge). The reverse is true for an inductor. Due to the magnetic field, the current through an inductor cannot change in an infinitely small period of time.
The common meme "ELI the ICE man" is one of the most common ways of remembering this. "ELI" means that when we apply a voltage (E) to an inductor (L), the current (I) will be behind the voltage--delayed from it. "ICE" means that when we apply a current (I) to a capacitor (C), the voltage (E) will be behind the current--delayed from it. It's all about delay, and why that delay exists.