The Order of Adjectives

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The Order of Adjectives

Who knew that adjectives in front of a noun actually have a preferred order?

Here it is. The preferred order of adjectives:

Number – opinion – size – shape – age – condition – colour – pattern – origin – material – purpose, and then the NOUN.

For example, if you were describing a bag as “black, old, and cloth”, which is correct?

  • The old, black cloth bag, or
  • The cloth, old, black bag.

Somehow, the second one just doesn’t sound right, does it?

Another example:

  • The blue, clean mountain water
  • The clean, blue mountain water

This time the second one is correct.

 

Here are some examples of a few of the less obvious categories:

Opinion: beautiful, exciting, clever, wonderful

Condition: clean, grubby, worn

Pattern: striped, spotted

Origin: Swedish, German

Material: leather, silk

Purpose: what is it for? These adjectives often end in -ing. Wedding, camping, shopping, etc. However, there are others, such as protective, birthday (cake/party), prom (dress).

When you have two adjectives that are both opinions, such as ‘nice’ and ‘spicy’, the more general opinion (nice) goes before the more specific one. It’s unusual to find more than three adjectives before a noun.

“Tall, dark, handsome man” is a common phrase that goes right against the preferred order, with “handsome” being an opinion and supposedly best earlier in the order. Although all the adjective orders I’ve been able to find seem to follow the rule, I think I’d have to conclude that they are a ‘preferred’ order, rather than a ‘rule which must be followed’. I’d say, when in doubt, it’s reasonably safe—and helpful—to use the preferred order as a useful guide.

 

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Your or You’re

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Your or You're

I was reading about the most common grammar mistakes last week, and although the correct usage of “your” and “you’re” wasn’t listed, it seems to be an error I often see. So here is a quick response to that—if this is a pair of words that causes you confusion, I hope it will be helpful.

“Your” indicates possession. As with “my”, “his”, “her”, “their” and “our”.

“You’re” is a contraction of “you are”. It has an apostrophe in the middle of the word, indicting a missing letter or letters—in this case, the letter “a”.

How to decide which to use

Ask yourself the question:

  • Can I write “you are” instead? If the sentence would still say what you want it to say, then “you’re” is the correct choice.
  • Is this about possession—something belonging to a person? Then “your” is correct.

Examples of correct usage

  • You’re not wearing that, are you?
  • You’re coming with me.
  • Your glass needs refilling.
  • Give me your hand.
  • When you’re ready, I’ll take you to your car.

 Test Yourself

  1. Bring me _______ papers.
  2. When do you think _______ going to be ready?
  3. Is that _______ child over there?
  4. Are _______ parents coming to the party?
  5. If _______ buying _______ first home, _______ probably going to need a mortgage.
  6. When _______ alarm clock rings, _______ meant to get out of bed.

 

Answers

  1. your
  2. you’re
  3. your
  4. your
  5. you’re – your – you’re
  6. your – you’re

 

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Writing Your Story

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PrintaBook

Have you ever aspired to write—perhaps you’re already writing? Susan Rushmore said, “I think there’s a story inside every one of us.” The challenging part is getting that out onto paper, creating something that others will enjoy reading, and then finding a publisher who will accept your work.

 

Self-Publishing

You also have an opportunity to self-publish. This means you don’t necessarily need to find a publisher who agrees your manuscript is worth investing in—you can do it all by yourself!

Printabook is a company in New Zealand that helps authors prepare their manuscript for printing. They have a free book you can order off their website: Print a Book – a Guide to Self Publishing. It’s a small book, easy to read and full of useful information. A variety of topics are covered, including launching and selling your book, e-books, paper choices, etc. If you’re even considering going down this path, I recommend you get one for yourself. No doubt there are other, similar options available that you could find with a Google search.

So tell me, have you ever wanted to write a book? Have you ever dreamed that maybe, one day, you would sit down and put all those memories onto paper. Or perhaps your dream has been more along the lines of a “how-to” e-book, or maybe a biography or a children’s story. The success of Harry Potter 18 years ago no doubt sent many people racing to their keyboards, wondering if that story inside their head could be just as successful. Well, it could!

 

Just Write

The only way you will ever find out is to write it. Procrastination has killed many a vision, and waiting for the perfect opportunity could mean that your dream will never be realised. There will always be a reason why you should not start today—why you should wait until after this happens, or that happens. You’re too busy, or too broke, or too young … or too old! None of these are valid excuses, of course. If you have a story inside you, the best place for it is on paper. Just write. If you’re thinking you don’t know how to write, learn! NZ Institute of Business Studies provides writing courses that train you in the skills of writing. I recommend them as an organisation that seriously wants you to succeed. Set yourself some goals and make the decision that it’s going to happen. Make sure you set a date by which you intend to start—and finish. A goal without a deadline is just a dream.

 

What Next?

So now you’ve written your story and you’re not sure what to do next. It’s your baby. Freshly born. Fragile. You’re feeling very protective. All this is quite normal. You don’t want anyone to read it just yet. Perhaps you feel any suggestions for changes would be critical of you and your writing style, and you’re not quite ready for that possibility. So your story sits in the drawer.

 

Find a Good Proofreader

Know this: It is YOUR story. You are the author. You have the final say. Proofreaders do not change your story. They work with you to help you express yourself more clearly, to ensure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in your writing. Your story is no better off in the drawer than it is in your head. Why did you write it? Didn’t you want someone to eventually read that baby? Who’s going to read it while it’s hiding in the cupboard? Take a deep breath. Decide what outcome you want for your writing: to be published and read? Or hidden away—never even given a chance—languishing in a drawer for the sake of . . .? Identify what the problem is here: Is it pride? Fear? When you have the courage to name whatever it is that’s holding you back, you can more easily meet it head-on. Giving birth is not generally a painless process. Is the birth of your baby worth any struggle you may face? Is it worth the fight? I would think, “yes”.

 

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Fewer or Less

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Fewer or LessRegarding the use of “fewer” or “less”, you may have heard this rule:

If you’re talking about amounts or something countable, use “fewer”. Otherwise, use “less”. Often that is the case, but it is not always a reliable guide.

An easier and more accurate way to decide which is correct

Use “fewer” with plurals and use “less” with something that’s singular or doesn’t have a plural, such as air, time or money.

For example, “fewer drinks of water”, “fewer sunny days”, and “fewer papers”; whereas “less water”, “less sunshine”, and “less paper”.

An exception

“Less” should be used in front of counting nouns or plurals that signify distance, amount, or time. For example, “less than two weeks”, “less than $20”, or “the journey was 10 miles less than expected”.

Here’s another one that can cause some dispute

Use “less” in the phrase, “one less”. Although many would argue that “fewer” should be used in instances where the reference is to something countable, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, common usage dictates “one less” is more correct. So, “one less apple” is better than “one fewer apple”. However, “fewer apples” (note the plural here) is better than “less apples”. It seems that although this particular example is often cause for argument, the singular and plural rule can still be applied successfully.

 

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Why Use a Proofreader? Does it Really Matter?

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Need a proofreader? – www.jyila.co.nzI was looking for an excuse not to ride the rollercoaster with my family when I came across this sign. (Please excuse the poor photography.) Note the use of “there” instead of “their” in the eighth bullet point. Note also in the next bullet point, they’ve written “effects” instead of “affects”. Easily confused words in both cases, but also easily avoided errors if they’d bothered to use a proofreader.

Unreasonable conclusion

I started to think, if people are sloppy with their spelling, punctuation and grammar, chances are they might be sloppy about other things as well! If their public image is not important to them, what are their safety policies like?

No matter how irrational my thought processes might be, I had found my excuse.

People Will Form Impressions About You Based on Your Writing

I’ve read that the average time people take to form a first impression about someone is just seven seconds. How crazy is that? But it’s true. People form opinions about us based on, in many cases, just our appearance. Is it worth risking your public forming a negative opinion about you solely based on errors in your writing? In your advertising, signwriting, newsletters, website, and other communications, do yourself a favour and present your brand well. The cost of ensuring your work is proofread accurately is far less than the loss of potential clients.

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The Joys of the English Language

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JoyWelcome to my blog!

I’ve always found the English language fascinating–and frustrating at times too. I’m pretty much a ‘black and white’ person, but there are certainly many shades of grey (gray for American speakers) when it comes to English language rules and regulations. On top of that, the rules keep changing! Language evolves.

Early in 2015 I completed my Diploma in Proofreading and Editing, which I undertook in order to polish my skills as a precursor to seeking work in this field. My ‘black and white’ tendencies were challenged somewhat and eventually morphed into something more of a dark grey. I am still very much a stickler for the rules but have been introduced to the complexities of style, opinion and author’s personal choice.

I want this blog to be a place where we can share insights, discover truths, discuss style and confusing words, share funny bloopers and generally enjoy the English language. I hope you’ll feel free to join in the conversations. I’d like this to be a safe place for people to comment and ask questions, to share opinions and thoughts. To that end, I will remove any offensive comments. Remember Muphry’s Law: “If you write anything criticising editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written.” No doubt I too will make mistakes. It is more difficult to proofread your own work than another writer’s!

Feel free to let me know what you’d like to see in here–perhaps something you’d like to know more about or what interests you? What’s YOUR pet peeve when it comes to grammar, punctuation and spelling errors?

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