how to link adjectives

[hela]

Dear teachers,

1) When do we have to put a comma or the coordinator “and” to separate adjectives?

2) Would you please tell if it is compulsory to put commas in a long series of adjectives ?

Examples:
a) A small, blue, canvas bag.
b) A big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table
c) A sharp hunting knife.
d) Two beautiful small old round red wax Thai candles.
e) A dirty, torn coat
f) She writes long and flowery letters.
g) A concrete glass building (would you order these "material" adjectives in alphabetical order? Would you please give me another example?)

h) A practical economical car (under which category would you place these adjectives? Would you please give me another example like this?)

Thank you for your help.
Hela

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

1. The adjectival order is:
Quality (beautiful) – size/age/shape (long, old) – colour (brown) – origin (French) – made of (metal) – Type/usage (half moon) – noun (car, hair, glasses): beautiful old brown French metal half moon spectacles

2. It is not good or convenient to have a long list of adjectives before a noun
3. Commas are not always necessary: she has long wavy brown hair – He has short spiky hair.: beautiful old brown French metal half moon spectacles

[hela]

Thank you Dr. J and merry Christmas to you.

- Now, would you consider "practical" and "economical" as "quality = subjective" adjectives ?

- Why "half-moon", in your example above, doesn't come under the heading of "shape"?

- What would you say:

a) A beautiful old English silver mirror OR A beautiful old sivler English mirror (?)

b) A 19th century Swedish wooden salad bowl OR A 19th century wooden Swedish salad bowl (?)

Best wishes

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Thanks merry Xmas to you
1. Yes they are quality adjectives but not necessarily subjective
2. Half-moon has nothing to do with shape because it refers to type for certain usage. Americans for example say reading glasses because they are used for reading. (Purpose)
3. Old English silver mirror (age-origin-made of-noun)
4. Swedish wooden salad bowl (origin-made of-noun)

[hela]

Dear teachers,

1) Would you say :
a) a practical economical car OR b) a practical AND economical car.

2) Would you consider the following sentence as unacceptable in English because of the too many adjectives?

"She bought a pair of beautiful old brown French metal half moon spectacles."

3) Would the use of a comma change the meaning of a noun phrase?

a) a polite young man = a man who is polite and young.
a tall white horse = a horse which is tall and white.

b) a polite, young man = a young man who is polite.
a tall, white horse = a white horse which is tall.

Or do they all have, in the end, the same meaning?

4) Would you please tell me if the following sentences are correct (= make sense)?

1. The weather was foul and depressing.
2. He is a happy and confident child.
3. Her expression was cold and enigmatic.
4. She has long rounded legs. (possible?)
5. She bought a bronze and crystal centre light.
6. The Mercedes is a powerful and secure car.
7. They were laying a green and black carpet in the hotel lobby.
8. They ordered a set of metal and plasticchairs.
9. The police got hold of cargo of foul and rotting meat.
10. He played the wrong note.
11. He has thick arched black eyebrows.
12. He is going to fall asleep in the next ten minutes.
13. The old wooden roof of the church didn’t resist (?) the storm.
14. During the first three days after the surgery I felt really bad.
15. The model walked down the podium with an elegant classy fur coat.
(what's the verb used to talk about models "parading" in a fashion show?)

Many thanks & Best wishes,
Hela

PS: Is there a page where I can find several sentences with compound adjectives?

[Rusty]

Dear teachers,

1) Would you say :
a) a practical economical car OR b) a practical AND economical car.

2) Would you consider the following sentence as unacceptable in English because of the too many adjectives?

"She bought a pair of beautiful old brown French metal half moon spectacles."

3) Would the use of a comma change the meaning of a noun phrase?

a) a polite young man = a man who is polite and young.
a tall white horse = a horse which is tall and white.

b) a polite, young man = a young man who is polite.
a tall, white horse = a white horse which is tall.

Or do they all have, in the end, the same meaning?

4) Would you please tell me if the following sentences are correct (= make sense)?

1. The weather was foul and depressing.
2. He is a happy and confident child.
3. Her expression was cold and enigmatic.
4. She has long rounded legs. (possible?)
5. She bought a bronze and crystal centre light.
6. The Mercedes is a powerful and secure car.
7. They were laying a green and black carpet in the hotel lobby.
8. They ordered a set of metal and plasticchairs.
9. The police got hold of cargo of foul and rotting meat.
10. He played the wrong note.
11. He has thick arched black eyebrows.
12. He is going to fall asleep in the next ten minutes.
13. The old wooden roof of the church didn’t resist (?) the storm.
14. During the first three days after the surgery I felt really bad.
15. The model walked down the podium with an elegant classy fur coat.
(what's the verb used to talk about models "parading" in a fashion show?)

Many thanks & Best wishes,
Hela

PS: Is there a page where I can find several sentences with compound adjectives?

1) Would you say :
a) a practical economical car OR b) a practical AND economical car.
(Both OK, but I'd put a comma after practical).

2) Would you consider the following sentence as unacceptable in English because of the too many adjectives?

"She bought a pair of beautiful old brown French metal half moon spectacles."
(Just as a matter of writing style, I'd break the sentence into two.
She bought a beautiful old brown pair of half moon glasses. They were the French, metal type).

3) Would the use of a comma change the meaning of a noun phrase?

a) a polite young man = a man who is polite and young.
a tall white horse = a horse which is tall and white.

b) a polite, young man = a young man who is polite.
a tall, white horse = a white horse which is tall.

Or do they all have, in the end, the same meaning?
(With short adjectives you can drop the comma and the meaning is the same. With longer adjectives, use a comma.
a polite, intelligent, young man
a tall, well-groomed, white horse).

4) Would you please tell me if the following sentences are correct (= make sense)?

1. The weather was foul and depressing. (OK).
2. He is a happy and confident child. (OK).
3. Her expression was cold and enigmatic. (OK).
4. She has long rounded legs. (possible?) (Rounded isn't the right word. Try: plump, sturdy, muscular, fleshy, fat).
5. She bought a bronze and crystal centre light. (OK).
6. The Mercedes is a powerful and secure car. (OK).
7. They were laying a green and black carpet in the hotel lobby. (OK).
8. They ordered a set of metal and plastic chairs. (OK).
9. The police got hold of a cargo of foul and rotting meat.
10. He played the wrong note. (OK).
11. He has thick, arched, black eyebrows. (Commas between words in a series).
12. He is going to fall asleep in the next ten minutes. (OK).
13. The old wooden roof of the church didn’t resist (?) withstand the storm.
14. During the first three days after the surgery I felt really bad. (OK).
15. The model walked down the podium runway/catwalk with an elegant classy fur coat.
(what's the verb used to talk about models "parading" in a fashion show?)
(Walk/parade are fine. Runway and catwalk are the same).

[hela]

Dear Rusty and Dr J.,

I know that they is a rule for ordering adjectives but do you think that these examples are also possible ?

1a) It's going to be a long hot summer → The summer is going to be long and hot.
1b) It's going to be a hot, long summer → The long summer is going to be hot.

2a) A French silk scarf → A Silk scarf made in France.
2b) A silk, French scarf → A French scarf made of silk.
2c) A cotton, French scarf → A French scarf made of cotton.

3a) A Swedish wooden salad bowl → A wooden salad bowl made in Sweden.
3b) A wooden, Swedish salad bowl → A Swedish salad bowl made of wood.

Best wishes to you all :)
Hela

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

You are mixing things here I believe because you seem not to understand what an adjective really is and that there are types of adjectives.

1. If you say this is an adjective you need to specify:
a. Is it an attribute (a beautiful house)
b. A predicate (the house is beautiful)

Most adjectives can be used attributively and predicatively like the adjective beautiful I used in the examples above. However, there are some adjectives which can’t be used in both ways. The most popular example is: sick and ill you can say:
a. She is sick/ill (OK used predicatively) BE and AmE difference being considered.
b. A sick man (OK used attributively)
c. An ill women (NOT OK cannot be used attributively unless you change the meaning to bad something like: ill-manners

Another adjective is asleep. It cannot be used attributively:
She is asleep but NOT an asleep girl

2. Some verbs take adjectives (predicative) not adverbs. They are called link or copular verbs. Please go to Book Club forum there is a thread about “Link Verbs”.

3. Past and present participles used as adjectives:
Interesting book
Well-dressed

There is a difference between made of/in/from:
A cake is made from milk (you don’t see milk in it)
A table is made of wood (you see wood)

Perhaps Rusty can deal with some of your other points

[Rusty]

Dear Rusty and Dr J.,

I know that they is a rule for ordering adjectives but do you think that these examples are also possible ?

1a) It's going to be a long hot summer → The summer is going to be long and hot.
1b) It's going to be a hot, long summer → The long summer is going to be hot.

2a) A French silk scarf → A Silk scarf made in France.
2b) A silk, French scarf → A French scarf made of silk.
2c) A cotton, French scarf → A French scarf made of cotton.

3a) A Swedish wooden salad bowl → A wooden salad bowl made in Sweden.
3b) A wooden, Swedish salad bowl → A Swedish salad bowl made of wood.

Best wishes to you all :)
Hela

Hela, I'll just say what sounds natural to my ear.

1a) It's going to be a long hot summer → The summer is going to be long and hot. (OK).
1b) It's going to be a hot, long summer → The long summer is going to be hot. ("long summer" seems like an afterthought. There would be a longer than usual pause after "hot").

2a) A French silk scarf → A Silk scarf made in France. (OK).
2b) A silk, French scarf → A French scarf made of silk.
(If a "French scarf" is known to be a particular style or quality, you could use ...silk, French.. For example: a delicious Danish pastry; a hot English muffin).
2c) A cotton, French scarf → A French scarf made of cotton. (same as 2b)

3a) A Swedish wooden salad bowl → A wooden salad bowl made in Sweden.(OK).
3b) A wooden, Swedish salad bowl → A Swedish salad bowl made of wood. (same as 2b).