Coordinate Adjectives
Coordinate adjectives modify the same noun independent of each other. They hold equal weight.
They perfectly fit the definition of coordinate!
We walked down the long, narrow path.
Long and narrow are modifying the noun path independent of each other. Long is modifying path, and narrow is modifying path.
This is how coordinate adjectives work.
If adjectives are coordinate, put a comma or the word and between them.
This lesson might not be very helpful yet, but stay with me because the magic is about to happen!
One way to learn about what something is is to learn about what something isn’t.
So, our next question is As opposed to what? How else would an adjective modify a noun?
Enter: cumulative adjectives. Oh, my goodness! I hear you despair.
Don’t despair – just continue to finish article, then click link at bottom of page – What Are Cumulative Adjectives?
Tests For Identifying Coordinate Adjectives
It’s not always easy to identify adjectives as coordinate or cumulative, but there are two tests that we can apply in order to help us figure it out.
A Note To Non-Native Speakers
The drawback of these tests is that they rely on the sentence “sounding normal” or not. If English isn’t your native language, these tests may not be very helpful for you because you may not have enough experience with what “sounds normal” and what doesn’t. Proceed with caution!
If you can’t tell whether your adjectives are coordinate or cumulative, try putting and between them. If your sentence sounds normal, you have coordinate adjectives, they need a comma between them.
If the sentence sounds strange, you have cumulative adjectives, don’t use a comma.
Three and furry cats cuddled on my lap. –> No
This doesn’t sound good. Three and furry are cumulative adjectives. They shouldn’t have a comma between them.
Three furry cats cuddled on my lap. –> Yes
Let’s apply this test to our other example sentence.
We walked down the long and narrow path. –> Yes
This sounds good. These are coordinate adjectives, and we should use a comma or the word and between them.
We walked down the long, narrow path. –> Yes
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AGH / Jan 2020