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’)
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