Table of Contents
Introduction
Understanding adjective placement is crucial for effective communication in English. Adjectives, the descriptive words that bring life to nouns and pronouns, play a vital role in conveying precise meanings.
This article explores the placement of adjectives, distinguishing between attributive and predicative usage, and delves into the intricacies of cumulative and coordinate adjectives.
As English language learners, it is important to understand the rules governing the arrangement of adjectives and enhance our grasp of this fundamental aspect of grammar.
Adjective Placement: A Closer Look
Adjectives are words that describe a noun or pronoun. They describe things in two main ways: before a noun (attributive) and after certain verbs (predicative):
- Attributive Adjectives:
- Placed before a noun they modify, attributive adjectives provide additional characteristics to the noun.
- Example: They bought a big house.
- Predicative Adjectives:
- Positioned after verbs like be, feel, seem, or look, predicative adjectives convey a state or condition.
- Example: They are nice.
Cumulative And Coordinate Adjectives
When adjectives pile up in front of a noun, however, you may sometimes have difficulty arranging them. Such a string of adjectives can be either cumulative or coordinate adjectives.
Coordinate Adjectives
These are adjectives that separately modify a noun. Their order can be scrambled and they can be joined by and. A comma is needed to separate each coordinate adjective.
Example:
- While strolling in the woods, they found a strange, mysterious, and frightened child.
- The dull, incessant droning.
Two rules indicate whether a string of adjectives are coordinate adjectives or not. Adjectives are considered coordinate:
1. If the meaning would be the same if their order were reversed
2. If “and” were placed between them.
Cumulative Adjectives
When adjectives pile up to jointly describe the noun and need to be arranged in a specific order, they are called cumulative adjectives. No commas are needed to separate the adjectives.
Example:
- He bought a wonderful old French car.
- The cute little cottage.
The above adjectives are not considered coordinate adjectives. The word ‘and cannot be placed between them.
Cumulative adjectives generally follow a certain order of arrangement.
| Opinion | good – attractive – beautiful, delicious… |
|---|---|
| Size | large – small – enormous… |
| Age | old – new – modern – young… |
| Length or shape | long – short – square – round… |
| Color | red – blue – green… |
| Origin (nationality, religion) | American – French -Muslim – Christian… |
| Material | plastic – woolen – wooden – cotton.. |
| Purpose | electric (wire) – tennis (shirt) |
It should be noted that long strings of cumulative adjectives tend to be awkward. It would be acceptable to use no more than two or three of them.
Examples:
- An attractive young American lady.
- A modern Japanese electric car.
- A big square blue box.
| Adjective Type | Placement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Attributive Adjectives | Before the noun they modify | They bought a big house. |
| Predicative Adjectives | After certain verbs like be, feel, seem, or look | They are nice. |
| Coordinate Or Cumulative | ||
| Coordinate Adjectives | Independently modify a noun | They found a strange, mysterious, and frightened child. |
| Cumulative Adjectives | Jointly describe a noun and follow a specific order | He bought a wonderful old French car. |
| Order Of Adjective | ||
| Coordinate Adjectives | They don’t follow a specific order. | He is intelligent and kind. He is kind and intelligent. |
| Order of Cumulative Adjectives | Opinion, Size, Age, Length/Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose | An attractive young American lady. A modern Japanese electric car. A big square blue box. |
Conclusion
understanding adjective placement is essential for clear and effective English. Whether placing them before nouns or after certain verbs, and whether dealing with cumulative or coordinate adjectives, a careful grasp of these concepts improves our language skills. Skillful use of adjectives not only maintains grammatical correctness but also makes our communication lively and powerful.
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