The yellow big dog

Asked Sep 20 '17 at 23:00

Active Jul 16 '19 at 14:41

Viewed 34 times

Consider the phrases:

"The big yellow dog".

"The yellow big dog".

"The big little dog".

"The red yellow dog".

Only the first sounds natural. What rules of grammar say that size must come before colour? Another example:

"The big fluffy yellow dog".

Why does the order of the adjectives sound better with size->smoothness->colour rather than other orders. What rules of grammar is this?

edited Jul 16 '19 at 14:41

tchrist

asked Sep 20 '17 at 23:00

zooby

There are not "rules", but rather "suggestions" -- some arrangements simply "sound better" than others. Partly this is an ordering by increasing detail, partly it is related to the length and "flow" of the adjectives, partly it is just established custom. (And, of course, "red yellow dog" is semantically self-contradictory.) – Hot Licks Sep 20 '17 at 23:06
Also related: Adjective order: Why is “big” before “beautiful”? – Mari-Lou A Sep 21 '17 at 06:26
Only the first phrase sounds natural because it's rare to see a dog that is big and little at the same time, so that sounds odd. And who has ever seen a dog that was yellow and red? – Mari-Lou A Sep 21 '17 at 06:31

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