| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 597.1 | Next to the Noun | MILLER::TURNBULL | Nostalgia ain't what it used to be! | Fri Dec 16 1988 17:20 | 7 |
| One rule is to place the adjective immediately preceeding the noun it modifies.
Another is to avoid, wherever possible, long strings of adjectives, perhaps by
rephrasing the sentence. Anyone got any others?
Maybe after this topic we could go onto the use and placement of adverbs?
Cheers, Greg.
|
| 597.2 | | RICKS::SATOW | | Fri Dec 16 1988 17:43 | 32 |
| re: .1
Don't think your first rule helps much; the base note seems to be talking
about two adjectives modifying the same noun. Both can't immediately precede
the noun.
I don't know the rule, but the the mental image of the first adjective is
`stronger' to me. So my mental image of
big red car
is a BIG car, that happens to be red. Bigness is the dominant characteristic
to me. But
red big car
makes me think of a red car that happens to be big. Redness is the dominant
characteristic.
My mental steps seem to be
big red car --> red `car' --> big `red car'
For some reason, a comma "evens out" the strength of the adjectives. So
big, red car
Is a car that happens to be both big and red.
This seemingly simple question seems to bring up an interesting example of how
we mentally parse sentences.
Clay
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| 597.3 | | UNTADI::ODIJP | o.......now + here = nowhere.......o | Fri Dec 16 1988 18:49 | 8 |
| I think that the more specific the adjective is , the closer it
is to the noun . In the example used , "big" is relative , but "red"
is not . I was trying to think of an example that didn't . But
couldn't .
I am now off for a nice juicy steak .
John J
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| 597.4 | Always an exception | HSSWS1::GREG | Malice Aforethought | Sat Dec 17 1988 06:12 | 16 |
| re: .3 (JJ)
That's a fair general rule, but there is one more thing
that should be mentioned, adjectives that describe other
adjectives are not interchangable. But that much is
self-evident.
Incredibly huge tree
would look ridiculous as:
huge incredibly tree
despite the fact that 'incredibly' is more specific than 'huge'.
- Greg
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| 597.5 | incredibly is an adverb | CRLVMS::TREESE | Win Treese, Cambridge Research Lab | Sun Dec 18 1988 00:01 | 5 |
| Well, technically, those are actually adverbs, and should come before
the words they modify.
- Win
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| 597.6 | but I've never seen red that's big.. | WELMTS::HILL | | Mon Dec 19 1988 17:31 | 13 |
| Re .5
So is the answer to separate adjectives by commas, and leave adverbs
in a string?
It seems to me that in "big red car" both big and red are adjectives,
since it is the car that's big, not the colour -- is this right?
Anyway, with or without commas, what are the ordering rules when
more than one adjective describes a noun?
Nick
the adjective
|