Grammar

• Parts of Speech
• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• Verbs
• Adverbs
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• Interjections
• Problems with Sentences

Adjectives

Adjectives tell us more about the noun that is being qualified. Some tricky aspects of adjectival usage include the arrangement of adjectives when two or more are used consecutively and the comparison of adjectives.

When more than one adjective is used consecutively before a noun, there is generally some order of arrangement (e.g. the quantity or number usually comes first).

When adjectives jointly build up the description of the noun and need to be arranged in a particular order, they are known as Cumulative Adjectives. For example:

A friend gave me five nervous little silvery fish for my birthday.

Adjectives that separately modify a noun, unlike cumulative adjectives, are called Coordinate Adjectives. Their order can be scrambled and they can be joined by and. A comma is needed to separate each coordinate adjective unless there is the word and. For example:

Over the years, the little girl has grown to become a confident, outspoken, intellectual and inquisitive teenager.

Hence, the rule is to insert a comma between coordinate adjectives not joined by the word and, and not to do so for cumulative adjectives (Hacker, 1992:147–148).

In comparing adjectives, one very common mistake is that of over-emphasis. Here is one example:

	A more better way to notify people of a change is to email everybody.
	A better way to notify people of a change is to email everybody.