"She is a beautiful, smart girl." - she is a beautiful AND smart girl. "This plant produces a large yellow flower." Do I need a comma after large? Or does it make a different connotation? That is, some plants produce large, yellow flowers only, while others produce small, yellow flowers also...
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Possible duplicate of What is the rule for adjective order? – Arm the good guys in America May 26 '17 at 18:20
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@Clare: I think this question is about punctuation, not about the order of multiple adjectives. – herisson May 27 '17 at 19:27
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Possible duplicate of Use of comma separating two adjectives – 1006a Jun 05 '17 at 17:29
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beautiful, smart girl and large(,) yellow flower are not comparable… Please don't ask me why and to me it seems obvious that beautiful, smart girl always needs that comma while in large(,) yellow flower the comma is always optional.
Very vaguely, is it acceptable to swap beautiful and smart?
Is it equally acceptable to swap large and yellow? I suggest that a yellow large flower just won't work.
Whether some plants produce large, yellow flowers only, while others produce small, yellow flowers also is a wholly different question.
Robbie Goodwin
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It's because of order of adjectives. Colors are different from other attributes/adjectives. – Arm the good guys in America May 26 '17 at 05:46
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Thanks, Clare. Now that you mention it I don't think a green long pen/plant/thingy rings half as true as a long green…
Similarly fat short… and short fat… but either of those is subordinate to colour.
What's going on, please?
– Robbie Goodwin May 26 '17 at 17:47 -
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It's not something native speakers ever consciously learn or need to be taught, or are taught. We pick it up naturally. – Arm the good guys in America May 26 '17 at 18:19
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1Thanks and isn't that telling? Really, vitally, penetrating to the heart of what and how we learn? – Robbie Goodwin May 26 '17 at 18:39
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Yellow large flower is trying to distinguish it from white large flower, while large yellow flower is trying to distinguish it from small yellow flower. Now about a comma. Yellow in yellow large flower is modifying 'large flower' but if you say yellow, (comma) large flower, both yellow and large are modifying the flower. – Makoto Jun 01 '17 at 23:28
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Really? Please, who says yellow large flower is trying to distinguish it from white large flower, while large yellow flower is trying to distinguish it from small yellow flower?
How would large yellow flower not be distinct from large white flower? How would either not be distinct from small yellow flower?
What's wrong with Clare's rule for adjective order, please?
– Robbie Goodwin Jun 02 '17 at 20:42