Handout 5A

​Handout 5A

​After reading the directions, skim the sheet observing the underlined words in each sentence.

“What do you notice about how the adjectives?"

​Word	​Meaning	​Synonyms
​coordinate	​Bring the different elements of something into a relationship that will ensure efficiency or harmony.	​harmonize (v) synchronize (v) bring together (v)

​“How does this definition connect to compound adjectives?”

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“Why do you think these kinds of adjectives need a hyphen?”

Coordinate and compound adjectives serve the purpose of :

• They set the scene.

• They describe the people and place and the disease.

• They add extra details for readers.

Extension

To know when to add a hyphen, you should determine whether:

• The two adjectives would not make sense with and placed between them (the hard-working doctor, not the hard and working doctor).

• The first word modifies the second word before the noun, instead of modifying the noun (for example, in “high-pitched whirring” the pitch was high—not the whirring).

• The two adjectives refer to a time period or an age (“days-old” guts, “ten-year-old boy”).

​Coordinate adjectives

Coordinate adjectives- individually modify a noun (person, place, or thing) and are separated by a comma.

For example, look at “heavy” and “bulky” in the following sentence:

The heavy, bulky box was awkward to carry.

You can tell that they’re coordinate adjectives because they would still sound correct if you used “and” between them, such as:

The heavy and bulky box was awkward to carry. or if you changed their order: The bulky, heavy box was awkward to carry.

Each combination, whether it's order is rearranged or has and instead of a '',''- all modify the noun (box) by describing it as heavy and bulky