When you have more than one adjective in a sentence, some need commas and some don’t. Like other English language quirks, adjective order is one you just have to roll with. To use another example, compare “small dog” to “black dog.” Is a black dog really a more specific description than a small dog? For example, referring to a house as a “brick house” is more specific than referring to it as an “old house” or a “beautiful house.” But this theory doesn’t always hold up. One is that the closer an adjective sits to its noun, the more vital it is to the noun’s description. It’s an unsatisfying answer, but it’s the only answer: We don’t really know. Why do adjectives need to be in this order? There are a lot of ways English can be confusing and in some of those cases, there’s a hidden logic as to why. But if you’re specifically referring to a tiny house, the answer is no. Take a look at this example:Īccording to The Royal Order of Adjectives, this sentence should read “She moved into a tiny brand-new house,” right? If you’re describing a smaller-than-average new house, yes. One of these circumstances is when one of the adjectives in your sentence is part of a compound noun. However, even with a specific adjective order to follow, there are circumstances where you need to change the order to communicate your message clearly. See how even when you don’t use an adjective from every category, you still follow this order? Take a look at this chart to see how different noun phrases illustrate the Royal Order: Quantity You could naturally follow this order any time you use more than one adjective to describe a noun, no matter where those adjectives fall within the Royal Order.
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