English Grammar - Position of Adjectives

 

English Grammar

Position of Adjectives 

Adjectives usually go before the nouns they modify.

Examples:

He is a good boy. (Here the adjective ‘good’ modifies the noun ‘boy’ and goes before it.)

She is an intelligent girl.

That was a clever idea.

 

When two or more adjectives come before a noun, they are usually separated by commas.

Examples:

A large, round table

A short, fair, pretty girl

We do not put a comma after the last adjective in the series.

 

When the last two are adjectives of color, they are usually separated by and.

Examples:

A black and white cat (NOT black white cat)

Red and blue socks

 

When two or more adjectives come in the predicative position, we use and between the last two.

Examples:

It was hot and sultry.

He was handsome, smart and polite.

The clouds looked white and fluffy.

 

Sometimes we put an adjective after the noun for the sake of emphasis.

Example:

There lived an old man strong and wicked. (More emphatic than ‘There lived a strong and wicked old man.’)

 

In phrases, the adjective always comes after the noun.

Examples:

Time-immemorial

Heir-apparent

God Almighty

President elect

 

In lines of poetry, too, the adjective is sometimes put after the noun.

Example:

O men with sisters dear! (Instead of ‘O men with dear sisters’)