Multiple Adjectives Order Comma Use

October 18, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Multiple Adjective Order And Comma Use

Multiple Adjectives Order and Comma Usage

Multiple adjectives can be used to describe a noun. When doing so there is a particular order that the adjectives must follow. Along with the order, there are rules for the use of commas as well. Most native English speakers do not understand or follow these rules, but these rules should be followed.

Adjective Order

The order when using multiple adjectives is:

Opinion: beautiful, interesting, intelligent, unsightly, ugly, good, bad
Size: big, small, large, long, short, tall
Shape: round, square, triangular, rectangular, oblong
Condition: rusty, broken, ripe, rotten, bruised, chipped
Age: young, old, middle-aged, elderly, brand-new, teenage
Color: blue, black, red, green, purple, pink
Origin: American, French, Spanish, nuclear, molecular, northern, southern
Material: aluminum, wooden, silk, fabric, cloth, cotton, plastic, satin, leather, metal
Purpose(Function): wireless, remote, walking, racing, military, off-road

Note that there are other smaller categories under some of the main categories above. Follow the order listed to properly order adjectives in sentences and when speaking.

Here are a few examples:

A beautiful, young French woman. Order: opinion – age – origin
The small, oval, black table. Order: size – shape – color
My cute, little, red leather handbag. Order: opinion – size – color – material
Our big, old northern house. Order: size – age – origin

Using Commas With Adjectives

In the examples above commas were used for some sentences and for others they were not. Even when they were used, it was hard to see the pattern. It can be difficult to understand when to use a comma and when not to.

The basic rule for using a comma between adjectives is:

You can replace the comma with an “and”
You are able to switch the order of the adjectives without changing the meaning of the sentence

If one ignores the rule for the adjective order, it is easier to see how the order can be switched, without changing the meaning of the sentence. An “and” can easily be added as well.

Cumulative and Coordinate Adjectives

The technical terms to keep in mind are cumulative adjectives and coordinate adjectives. Do not use a comma with cumulative adjectives, since the first adjective modifies the combination of the second adjective and the noun. Here are a few examples:

We road in the back of the big English car. Cumulative adjectives since big modifies the combination of English car.
She loved the fast, sporty car. Coordinate adjectives since you can put an and between them, and you can change the order of them as well.

As stated, this can be confusing at times. With practice and over time students learn when and when not to use commas when using multiple adjectives.

Another thing to look at with cumulative and coordinate adjectives is when you have them mixed together in a sentence. This makes it to where there can be a comma with one set of adjectives in a row while the other set might not need a comma. Look at the following examples:

We went to the wild, huge summer festival. The first two are coordinate adjectives and the second two are cumulative adjectives.
Jennifer is a friendly, tall Spanish woman. The first two are coordinate adjectives and the second two are cumulative adjectives.

[slickquiz id=11]

Adjectives

December 14, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Adjectives

Adjectives are used to describe or modify nouns such as a person, place or thing in a sentence. There are many different types of adjectives, but this is the most basic definition.

For example, “That’s a big house”, the word big is used to tell us something about the house.

They are also used before nouns.
For example:
This is such a pretty house.

We often use more than one adjective to describe a single noun.
For example:
It is a large, beautiful house.

Adjectives can be used to describe what something is, using the “to be” verb.
For example:
Jane is pretty.

They can be used to describe one subject in a sentence when the verb is after the subject.
For example:
Sally drove a large car.

Adjectives can also be placed at the end of the sentence when describing a subject.
For example:
That dog is ugly.

Adjectives that end with “ing ” usually describe a source of feelings. Such as, intriguing, horrifying, astonishing, amazing.

This is a horrifying movie.
The presentation was astonishing.

Adjectives that end with “ed ” usually refer to the receiver of a feeling: horrified, amazed, intrigued

Bill was horrified by the movie.
Her intelligence intrigued him.

[slickquiz id=10]

Superlative Adjectives

December 13, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives show the highest possible degree of something compared to a group of the same or similar things. For example, the word tallest is the superlative form of the adjective tall. Your comparison has to include three or more items.

The Burj Dubai is the tallest building in the world.

How Superlative Adjectives Are Constructed

There are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

short adjectives: add -est example: odd + est = oddest
long adjectives: use most example: most + amazing = most amazing

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	odd, slow
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	silly, lowly
Normal rule: add “-est”	oddest – slowest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st	little – littlest
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant + vowel, double the last consonant	mad – maddest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	silly – silliest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	tender, gorgeous
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	impressive, beautiful
For all of these add most in front	gorgeous → the most gorgeous impressive → the most impressive

The needs to be added in front as well.

Some superlative adjectives allow the use of both -est and most. Look at these examples:

simple – simplest/most simple
happy – most happy/happiest

For example, we can say either, “Of all the girls in the room, she was the most happy.” We can also say, “She was the happiest girl in the room,” without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Superlative Adjectives Versus Superlative Adverbs

One thing that confuses English learners is the difference between a superlative adjective and a superlative adverb. When you compare something to itself it is a superlative adverb. It is easy to see the difference since a superlative adverb does not use the in front of it. Look at these examples:

San Francisco is foggiest in June. (comparing to itself – superlative adverb)
Seattle is the foggiest of all the cities in the US.
Jenny is happiest when she is with her pugs. (comparing to itself – superlative adverb)

Irregular Superlatives

Some adjectives have irregular superlative forms:

little (amount) – least
much – most
far – farthest/furthest
bad – worst
good – best

For example, we do not say, “She had the littlest amount of candy,” we would say “She had the least amount of candy.”

How Superlative Adjectives Are Used

When comparing one item in a group of three or more things, we use a superlative adjective:

John is 200lbs. Adam is 225lbs. Bill is 300lbs. Bill is the heaviest.
Jane, Emily and I all have large homes, but Emily’s is the largest.
The library is the oldest building in our town.

This table shows an example comparing three girls:

	Emily	Sara	Amy
Height (in feet)	5”	5.5”	4.5”	Amy is the shortest.
Weight (in pounds)	100	130	98	Sara is the heaviest.
Shoe (foot) size	5	6	3.5	Amy has the smallest feet.
Siblings	4	0	2	Emily has the most siblings.
Shirt color	black	yellow	white	Emily is wearing the darkest shirt.

[slickquiz id=13]

Comparative Adjectives

December 13, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things to show the difference in the features of the two items. Sometimes two things are the same in some ways and different in other ways. For example, two buildings may be the same size but different colors. Comparative adjective forms are only used to compare one object to another, they can not be used to compare three or more items. In this example, smaller is the comparative form of the adjective “small.”

The kitten is smaller than the dog.

How to Construct Comparative Adjectives

To form a comparative adjective, you can add “er” to short adjectives or use “more” in front of longer adjectives. For example:

short adjectives: add er: small + “er” = smaller
long adjectives: use more: more + beautiful = more beautiful

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	big, dumb
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	easy, dirty
Normal rule: add “- er “	dumb – dumber
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r	large – larger
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant + vowel, double the last consonant	fat- fatter
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	skinny – skinnier
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	insane, obese
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	impressive, beautiful
Rule is to use more	insane – more insane impressive – more impressive

We can use both -er and more for some adjectives:

simple – simpler or more simple
costly – costlier or more costly

For example, we can say both of the following without changing the meaning of the sentence:

The first car is costlier than the second car.
The first car is more costly than the second car.

Comparative Adjectives Versus Comparative Adverbs

When using comparative adjectives you will use than. Many times English learners confuse a comparative adjective which uses than, with a comparative adverb that does not. Comparative adverbs are common when comparing something to itself. Look at these examples:

Tim runs faster when he is being chased. (comparing to itself – comparative adverb)
Tim is faster than Jenny.
I work harder when the project is interesting. (comparing to itself – comparative adverb)
I work harder than Frank.

Irregular Comparatives

Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms:

bad – worse
far – further
good – better
much – more
little – less

For example, we don’t say, “John is badder at golf than Adam is.” We say “John is worse at golf than Adam is.”

How to Use Comparative Adjectives

Remember that we only use comparative adjectives to compare two things, never three or more. Here are a few examples:

John weighs 125 pounds. Sara weighs 110 pounds. John is heavier than Sara.
Your house is bigger than mine is.
He has better manners than she does.
Was your math test easier than mine?

When we are comparing two girls, we can use the examples below:

	Sara	Jenny
Height (in feet)	5.5”	5.0”	Jenny is shorter than Sara.
Weight(in pounds)	120	95	Sara is heavier than Jenny.
Shoe size(foot size)	3	4	Jenny has bigger feet than Sara.
Ear piercings	3	2	Sara has more ear piercings than Jenny.
Shirt color	black	white	Sara is wearing a darker shirt than Jenny.

It is important to note that while comparative adjectives are only used to compare two things, one or both of those things can be a word that refers to a group of things. For example:

The library is older than all the other buildings in town.
Jim is faster than all of the other students.

Here, we use the term “all the other buildings” as a single item to compare the library to. We are not comparing each individual building to the library, but rather all the buildings as a single group. Here is an example of a comparative adjective which compares one group against another group:

The girls’ soccer team is better than the boys’ soccer team.

Here, we are comparing all the members of the teams as single units. We are not comparing each girl on the team to each boy on the team.

[slickquiz id=33]