Coordinate Adjectives

Select the sentence that uses coordinate adjectives, which are two separate adjectives describing the same noun.

• My friend has a new phone case.

• She wore a long, beautiful dress to the party.

• That is a huge stone statue.

• I bought some delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Answer explanation

The adjectives 'long' and 'beautiful' both independently describe the dress. You could say 'a beautiful, long dress' or 'a long and beautiful dress,' so they are coordinate. The other options use cumulative or compound adjectives.

Which sentence shows the correct way to use a comma with coordinate adjectives?

• He is a smart funny, guy.

• It was a dark, stormy night.

• She has a big red, ball.

• We saw the tall, old, oak tree.

Answer explanation

A comma is used between coordinate adjectives ('dark', 'stormy') that modify the same noun ('night'). You can reorder them ('stormy, dark') or use 'and' ('dark and stormy'), so a comma is correct.

True or False: A good way to check if adjectives are coordinate is to see if you can place the word 'and' between them without it sounding weird.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This is called the 'and' test. If inserting 'and' between the adjectives makes sense (e.g., 'a difficult and long test'), they are coordinate and need a comma.

True or False: The sentence 'I saw a big, fluffy, white dog' is punctuated correctly.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The adjectives 'big,' 'fluffy,' and 'white' are all coordinate because they independently describe the dog. Commas are needed to separate each adjective in the series.

Recognize the sentence that correctly identifies and punctuates coordinate adjectives.

• The bright, yellow sun is a star.

• The bright yellow sun is a star.

• My dog has four, white paws.

• She bought a cotton, new shirt.

Answer explanation

'Bright yellow' describes a specific color; 'bright' modifies 'yellow', not 'sun'. These are cumulative adjectives and do not take a comma. The other options incorrectly use commas or have the wrong adjective order.

Complete the sentence: The haunted house had _______ hallways.

• long dark, winding

• long, dark, winding

• long, dark winding

• long dark winding,

Answer explanation

The adjectives 'long,' 'dark,' and 'winding' are all coordinate because they each separately describe the hallways. When you have a series of three or more coordinate adjectives, you must place a comma between each one.

In the phrase 'the crunchy, salty snack,' why are the adjectives 'crunchy' and 'salty' considered coordinate?

• Because one describes size and the other describes taste.

• Because they are both short words.

• Because they both independently describe the snack and can be reordered.

• Because 'salty' is a more important description than 'crunchy'.

Answer explanation

Coordinate adjectives each modify the noun on their own. You can say 'the salty, crunchy snack' or 'the crunchy and salty snack,' which proves they are coordinate.

Choose the best way to revise this sentence: 'The game was exciting. The game was close.'

• The game was exciting and close.

• The game was exciting close.

• The exciting, close, game was fun.

• The game, exciting, close, was fun.

Answer explanation

This option correctly combines the two ideas by making 'exciting' and 'close' coordinate adjectives joined by 'and' after the noun they modify.

Which sentence needs to be edited to fix a punctuation error with its adjectives?

• He is a reliable, trustworthy friend.

• That is a beautiful, antique wooden chair.

• I read a fascinating story.

• The loud, obnoxious alarm woke me up.

Answer explanation

This sentence has an error. 'Beautiful' and 'antique' are coordinate, but 'wooden' is a cumulative adjective (material) that must stay next to the noun. The comma between 'antique' and 'wooden' should be removed.

Complete the sentence: For her birthday, she got a ______ bike.

• shiny, new, mountain

• shiny, new mountain

• shiny new mountain

• shiny new, mountain

Answer explanation

'Shiny' and 'new' are coordinate adjectives that can be reordered ('new, shiny'). 'Mountain' acts as part of the noun phrase 'mountain bike' (a type of bike), so no comma goes before it. 'Shiny' and 'new' need a comma between them.