Commas with pairs of adjectives
AutoYou have two adjectives together. Do you put a comma between them or not? If they are coordinating adjectives, you do it. This follows eat zen rule p
Comma Rule P: Put a comma between the coordinating adjectives.
Definition of Coordinate Adjectives. Adjectives are coordinated if they meet two criteria: (1) you can place and between the two words, and the sentence means the same thing, and (2) you can reverse their order, and the sentence means the same thing.
Sample 1: We had a hot, dried summer.
Sample 1 has the adjectives hot Y driedboth used to describe summer. if we write We had a hot and dry summer., the prize makes sense. It also makes sense if we write We had a hot and dry summer.. The adjectives meet both criteria, so we know they are coordinated and we put a comma between them.
To native English speakers, the two revised sentences will sound like natural speech, and the two criteria are probably sufficient to identify coordinating adjectives. For a more technical explanation, we can examine the Royal Order of Adjectives.
(If these criteria and reviews make sense to you, skip the next section and go to Rule Q.)
Definition of Royal Order of Adjectives. This is the order in which native English speakers naturally use adjectives when speaking and writing. Although there are exceptions, such as to emphasize specific features, this order is generally true.
The Royal Order of Adjectives is as follows.
- Determiners: Words that indicate which (eg, East, tea, has, me, she)
- Observations: subjective descriptions (eg, Quick, decrepit, easy, beautiful, cheap)
- Size: Physical descriptions of the size (eg, broad, small, enormous, tiny)
- Shape: physical descriptions of the shape (eg, round, square, lean, misshapen, long, oblong)
- Age: Adjectives indicating age (eg, ancient, new, three years, ancient)
- Color: Physical descriptions of color (eg, red, blue, creamy, misty, fuchsia)
- Nationality: Place of origin (eg, American, French, European)
- Material: what something is made of (eg, silk, cardboard, Rubber, sand, of wood, cream)
- Type: The specific type of the thing (for example, swinging [horse], digital [phone], acoustic [guitar]); can be considered part of the name of the thing described
The Royal Order of Adjectives indicates that Tea [determiner] black [color] sand [material] paint it will sound natural but that sand black paint I won’t. Similarly, She [determiner] broad [size] of wood [material] ancient [type] watch will sound more natural than His big old wooden clock.
I don’t have this order memorized, but I don’t need it because I know what sounds natural.
The actual order of adjectives is important in understanding coordinate adjectives. If you write two or more adjectives of the same type, they will be coordinated and you will need a comma between them.
Example 2: I have a fast and cheap car.
For example, Quick Y cheap both are adjectives of observation. This means that they are coordinated when used together, as in example 2, and require a comma. We can also apply the two criteria to check this. we can put Y among them: I have a fast and cheap car. We can reverse your order: I have an economical and fast car.
Q comma rule: omit the comma between adjectives to make them uncoordinated and to change the meaning
The comma between coordinated adjectives indicates that both describe something equally. In sample 3, Quick Y cheap equally describe because. However, if you omit the comma, you change the meaning of the sentence.
Sample 3. I have a fast and cheap car.
In sample 3, it still indicates that cheap describes becausebut you also indicate that Quick describes cheap car. You tell the reader that your economy car is fast. A fast and economical car. is different from a slow cheap car, for example. The comma, or its absence, makes a big difference in its meaning.
If you are using the Royal Order of Adjectives, you will see that when you omit the comma, cheap it becomes a type adjective, rather than an observation adjective. Cheap is a type of car in sample 3, so Quick Y cheap different types of adjectives, and you don’t need the comma.
I know this is getting confusing so I’ll summarize the main points.
1) If the two adjectives describe something equally, they will meet both criteria. Put a comma between them.
2) If the first adjective describes the next adjective and sew together, they will not meet the two criteria. Do not put a comma between them. This brings us to the next rule.
Comma Rule R: Do not place a comma between uncoordinated adjectives.
Use the same two criteria to determine whether or not two adjectives are coordinated. If the adjectives do not meet the criteria, do not use a comma. This rule is simply the opposite of the P rule.
Exhibit 4: A large brown bear is on the loose in the park.
Look at sample 4. There is no comma between broad Y Brown. If we change your order, as in a big brown bear, does not make sense or, at least, changes the meaning of the sentence. From this we know that these two adjectives are not coordinated, and we do not put a comma between them. If we use the Royal Order of Adjectives, we also realize that they are different types of adjectives.
Exhibit 5: The original American flag is on display.
The two adjectives in sample 5 are not coordinated. we can’t write the original american flag Prayed The original and American flag. without changing the meaning of the sentence. Therefore, the adjectives do not pass both criteria, so we do not put a comma between them.
If you are using Royal Adjective Order, you can see that these are different types of adjectives. Original is an adjective of observation, and American It is an adjective of nationality. They are of different types, so they do not need a comma.
Comma Rule S: Do not put a comma between an adjective and the thing it describes.
Commas separate things. However, adjectives should not be separated from the things they describe. For this reason, you don’t use a comma between the final adjective and the noun it describes, regardless of how many adjectives you use.
Sample 6: These old wooden red frames are still my favorite. (This sample is incorrect.)
Surprisingly, this error is common, although it is very easy to avoid. If there are no words between the adjectives and the word being described, you will never need a comma in that position.
In sample 6, for example, the adjectives describe frames. There are no words between the final adjective. of wood Y framesso there should be no comma there.
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