Punctuation Tip: Coordinate Adjectives and Cumulative Adjectives
Coordinate adjectives are equal adjectives; that is, each one equally modifies the noun.
If you can insert the word "and" between the two adjectives, they are called "coordinate adjectives," and a comma is needed.
• I ate a juicy, delicious steak for dinner last night.
A "juicy, delicious steak" is both a juicy steak and a delicious steak, so "juicy" and "delicious" are equal coordinate adjectives.
If the adjectives are unequal, they are cumulative adjectives, and no comma is used to separate them.
• We bought a beautiful antique vase at the bazaar.
With "beautiful antique vase," the word "and" would not logically fit between the two adjectives "beautiful" and "antique."
Cumulative adjectives are two or more adjectives that together modify a noun. They are consecutive. For cumulative adjectives, the comma is omitted since misreading is not likely to occur.
In English, there is an order to cumulative adjectives. An example of this is size and color.
• The big black dog chased the little gray squirrel.
Cumulative adjectives are arranged in the following order:
• Quantity
• Opinion
• Size
• Age
• Length or shape
• Color
• Origin, ethnicity, religion
• Material
• Purpose
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