1. Understanding Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that equally modify the same noun. They can be joined by the conjunction “and” and can be rearranged without changing the meaning.

Example:

• “The big and tall building.”
• “The blue and shiny car.”

2. Comma Rule

When using coordinate adjectives, a comma is placed between them if they equally describe the noun. To determine if the adjectives are coordinate:

1. Test with “and”: If you can use “and” between the adjectives, they are coordinate.
2. Rearrange: If you can switch the order of the adjectives without changing the meaning, they are coordinate.

Example:

• “It was a long, hot summer.”
• You can say, “It was a long and hot summer.”
• You can rearrange to “It was a hot, long summer.”

3. No Comma for Cumulative Adjectives

Cumulative adjectives are adjectives that build on each other and do not equally modify the noun. They cannot be separated by “and” and cannot be rearranged without changing the meaning.

Example:

• “She wore a beautiful red dress.”
• Here, “beautiful” describes the quality, and “red” describes the color; they cannot be separated.

4. Comma Examples with Coordinate Adjectives

Example Sentences:

• “The bright, colorful painting brightened the room.”

1. (Correct: “bright and colorful”)

• “He is a talented, hardworking student.”

1. (Correct: “talented and hardworking”)

5. Common Mistakes

• Incorrect Use of Commas: Placing a comma between cumulative adjectives.
• Incorrect: “She is a smart, young girl.”
• Correct: “She is a smart young girl.”
• Omitting Commas with Coordinate Adjectives: Forgetting to place a comma between coordinate adjectives.
• Incorrect: “It was a dark, stormy night.”
• Correct: “It was a dark and stormy night.” (or “It was a stormy, dark night.”)