Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Commas with Multiple Adjectives and Adverbs
Can anyone help me with a memory trick that will enable me to quickly decide if a comma should be put between multiple adjectives and adverbs? I know the rule of reversing the words and using them with the word 'and'. But somehow, I keep getting confused. Is it if you can use both words with the noun/pronoun?
Example: She wore a thick black fur coat.
Possible Solutions
She wore a thick coat.
She wore a black coat.
She wore a fur coat.
She wore a fur and thick and black coat.
(It sounds like fur coat is a phrase to me, like Christmas tree and fire engine. If it is a phrase, how does that factor in to the solution?)
Example: He had a constant anxious feeling.
Possible Solutions
He had a constant feeling.
He had an anxious feeling.
He had an anxious and contant feeling.
Example: She wore a thick black fur coat.
Possible Solutions
She wore a thick coat.
She wore a black coat.
She wore a fur coat.
She wore a fur and thick and black coat.
(It sounds like fur coat is a phrase to me, like Christmas tree and fire engine. If it is a phrase, how does that factor in to the solution?)
Example: He had a constant anxious feeling.
Possible Solutions
He had a constant feeling.
He had an anxious feeling.
He had an anxious and contant feeling.
Top answer
Put a comma if otherwise it is confusing as to whether the word is an adjective modifying the noun or an adverb modifying another adjective. Often, it makes no difference; in that case, omit the comma.
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Put a comma if otherwise it is confusing as to whether the word is an adjective modifying the noun or an adverb modifying another adjective. Often, it makes no difference; in that case, omit the comma.
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