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Do these sentences take commas as coordinate adjectives?

  1. She had long black hair.
  2. She had long straight brown hair. (does this take a comma after "long"?)
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    Please show us the research you have done so far, and explain what you don't understand about it. Questions that can be answered from standard references are off topic. Also, the question looks suspiciously like it may be a homework question from a class. I could be wrong, of course, but please don't ask us to do your homework. – Phil Sweet Apr 21 '17 at 02:01
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    There are "rules" about the punctuation of multiple modifiers in a noun phrase. Take for example your "The thin pale boy". Without a comma, "pale" combines with "boy" to give "pale boy", and this in turn is modified by "thin" to give the meaning "a pale boy who is thin". If you insert a comma "A thin, pale boy", the meaning becomes "A boy who is both thin and pale". See the difference? – BillJ Apr 21 '17 at 08:06
  • In "She had long black hair," I don't think commas are necessary by order of adjectives. However, with regard to commas with adjectives, I have also found that in all cases where "She had long black hair," no commas have been used. However, in case of "long straight brown hair," sometimes, in edited writing, there is a comma after "long." I am curious to know whether there is a rule why the comma is in that place. I know about the order of adjectives/cumulative adj, so I am asking if it's mandatory to include a comma in "long straight brown hair," when "long, winding road" takes a comma. –  Apr 21 '17 at 17:33
  • @BillJ I don't understand your example. What is the difference between a pale boy who is thin and a boy who is both thin and pale (and, for that matter, a thin boy who is pale? – Nemo Aug 22 '21 at 18:42

2 Answers2

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A string of adjectives without any commas does look rather awkward, but it will (just about) pass grammatical scrutiny, especially in creative writing. Whether a strict teacher will allow it is a very different question...

Examples:

He was a short, fat boy in his youth, but grew up to be a tall, thin man.

The thin little old woman scolded the big fat pig for eating a small, thin turnip on his own authority.

I don't know the 'rule' that applies (mainly because I do grammar by 'feel' rather than rule) but you can be guided by this extract:

"The rulebooks tell us to put commas between coordinate adjectives, but because it is not always easy to tell when adjectives are coordinate, we apply two simple tests to be sure: First, we try placing the word AND between the two adjectives. Second, we reverse them. If, in both instances, the resulting phrase still sounds appropriate, we are most likely dealing with coordinate adjectives and should use a comma between them."

Source:http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/042301comcoordadj.htm

English Student
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  • I didn't know the rule that applies (mainly because I do grammar by 'feel' rather than rule) but you can be guided by this extract: "The rulebooks tell us to put commas between coordinate adjectives, but because it is not always easy to tell when adjectives are coordinate, we apply two simple tests to be sure: First, we try placing the word AND between the two adjectives. Second, we reverse them. If, in both instances, the resulting phrase still sounds appropriate, we are most likely dealing with coordinate adjectives and should use a comma between them." Source: www.getitwriteonline.com – English Student Apr 21 '17 at 02:44
  • Why the downvote? It seems useful, and sounds right to me (American native). Is it actually incorrect? – SilverWolf Oct 25 '17 at 19:43
  • We cannot infer much from a downvote when the person declined to leave a comment. I have seen answers downvoted for unrelated reasons. This was one of my early answers here @seaturtle. It looks like this question and answer did not get voted upon much at all, at the time. Moreover I added the reference a few weeks later, but nobody has time to reverse an old downvote. The only thing worth adding now: putting or not putting commas between adjectives is really entirely a matter of taste, except on this site: but for consistency's sake a language coach would prefer that it be a matter of style! – English Student Oct 25 '17 at 21:12
  • George Orwell says, "It was a bright cold day in April". I wanted to do a similar sentence, so I wrote, "It's a bright hot windy day". After researching and reading here, I'm still not sure if commas are mandatory.

    PS: Grammarly suggested a comma after "hot" in my sentence.

     – m26a Aug 22 '21 at 11:53
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Generally I wouldn't use commas for adjectives preceding the noun.

e.g. "He was a short fat boy in his youth, but grew up to be a tall thin man."

Although there might be a few instances where a comma is necessary for clarity - e.g. "a light green suitcase" (a suitcase coloured light green) and "a light, green suitcase" (a green suitcase which does not weigh very much).

I would generally use commas in a case like this

"He was short, fat and clumsy in his youth, but grew up to be a tall, thin and agile."

Nemo
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  • Have you come across the distinction between coordinate and cumulative comma strings? See BillJ's comment at the top. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 22 '21 at 16:41
  • I don't agree that coordinate adjectives always have to be separated by commas. If the adjectives in question are incapable of being cumulative then you don't need a comma IMO. You cannot be thinly pale or palely thin. And cold cannot be bright. George Orwell was right about most things. – Nemo Aug 22 '21 at 16:59
  • Yes, I'd agree with you ... now that you've amended your answer. But BillJ's point is also valid. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 22 '21 at 18:37