When two adjectives (playful,tan) describe a noun, they are usually separated by a
comma:
Aplayful,tan beagle won the competition.But adjectives may also come after the noun, as they do in the following sentence:
A beagle, playful and tan, won the competition.Notice two things: The commas are outside the two adjectives, and they are joined
by and. Also notable is the fact that this form puts more emphasis on the
adjectives.
Adjectives can appear in a third place, which is after a linking verb. You will
read much more about this in the section on linking verbs, but for now recall that a
linking verb links to another word in the subject:
The beagle is playful.Playful, the adjective, describes the subject, beagle.Playful is linked to the subject
by the linking verb is.
Written Practice 2-8
Circle all the adjectives in the following sentences.
- The smooth-haired dog is a beagle.
- Lise is organized.
- I have a well-informed friend.
- Richard, tall and tan, returned from a long vacation.
- A sleek car arrived at the front door.
- The strapping quarterback fell to the ground.
- His right knee was injured badly.
- The loud, pulsing music tore through the small space.
- An angry landlord rushed upstairs to complain.
- A friend, gesturing and smiling, left the auction.
CHAPTER 2 Introduction to the Parts of Speech^37