Cumulative Adjectives
These adjectives also live up to their name.
Cumulative adjectives describe, not only the noun, but the combination of the next adjective and the noun.
Cumulative adjectives build upon one another to modify a noun.
Three furry cats cuddled on my lap.
Although it might not seem like it, three and furry are modifying the noun cats differently. Furry is modifying just the noun cats, and three is modifying the phrase furry cats.
This is how cumulative adjectives work.
If adjectives are cumulative, don’t put a comma between them. That would break up their cumulative effect!
Here’s the order of adjectives in English:
- Articles (a, an, the), demonstrative pronouns (this, those), possessives (our, his, Shelley’s)
- Quantity (numbers)
- Opinion, observation (funny, nasty, smart, beautiful)
- Size (large, big, tiny)
- Age (young, old)
- Shape, length, appearance (round, long, bumpy)
- Color
- Origin/ethnicity/religion (Dutch, Lutheran)
- Material (leather, wood)
- Purpose, a noun used as an adjective (often -ing, such as sleeping in sleeping bag; baseball, as in baseball jersey)
Order of Adjectives
Articles (a, an, the), demonstrative pronouns (this, those), possessives (our, his, Shelley’s) followed by:
Number⎮Opinion⎮Size⎮Age⎮Shape⎮Colour⎮Origin⎮Material⎮Purpose
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AGH / Jan 2020