So once you know the categories, it’s much easier to decide on word order. If they know and use the same rules we use, communication is clearer.Īdjectives fall into different categories, and it is those categories that have been given a particular order. Those we communicate with, through either the spoken or the written word, will more easily understand when they don’t have to figure out which words go with which others, which words modify which others.

We can’t because there are rules, rules established from use and likely as a way of making communication easier. Let’s look at the rules for adjectives, see how adjectives are ordered in a list, and learn where to include commas and whether or not commas are even necessary.īut why not? Why can’t we put adjectives in any order? We could say the green elm tree blocked his view, so why can’t we write the green big tree?

Are they in the right order? And where do the commas go? Does a particular grouping of adjectives even get commas? Most writers and editors have no problem with putting adjectives in the proper order, but every once in a while you may find yourself staring at a string of adjectives, wondering if something is wrong. Today I want to look at what is called the royal order of adjectives, a fancy way of saying that multiple adjectives used together to modify the same noun have a particular order, at least in English. Yet some rules can be a problem for any of us, especially if we don’t know that we actually should be following a rule. Native speakers of a language typically understand many grammar rules without having to study those rules. Apby Fiction Editor Beth Hill last modified November 2, 2017

What is a coordinate adjective