Author Topic: Questions on coordinate adjectives, cumulative adjectives, Order of Adjectives  (Read 2890 times)

Gerry T. Galacio

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 109
  • Karma: +0/-1
    • View Profile
I posted on my FB page "Plain English: Special Program in Journalism and press conferences" a recap of the book "Bad Ideas About Writing" published by the West Virginia University. I used the phrase "Free, scholarly book ..." as part of my post title. But I keep remembering something I read that "adjectives of equal weight should not be separated by a comma."

Questions:

1. In the phrase "Free, scholarly book," are "free" and "scholarly" coordinate adjectives or cumulative adjectives?

Which is correct — "Free, scholarly book" or "Free scholarly book"?

2. Which is correct — "Long black hair" or "Long, black hair"?

If "Long black hair" (no comma between the adjectives) is correct because "long" and "hair" are cumulative adjectives, is it correct to say that "long" precedes "black" because of the Order of Adjectives? What relationship, if any, is there between cumulative adjectives and the Order of Adjectives?

P.S.

The book "Bad Ideas About Writing" says that the following are bad ideas:


"Teaching Grammar Improves Writing"

"Good Writers Must Know Grammatical Terminology"

"Grammar Should be Taught Separately as Rules to Learn"