It gave me an idea. When I edit, I can't help but comment on all these tiny little things. So I created an editing guide. Armed with abbreviations, I cut down my editing time significantly.
So, since I haven't had the time to write a THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW post, I'll insert some grammar tips to tide you over. ;) Because as we all know, Grammar Is Not Optional.
Today's Tip: Coordinating Adjectives
I'm just going to start at the top of my guide and head down. It's in alphabetical order (thanks to a suggestion from Shaunna). I've already covered AP (attribution punctuation. If you missed that post, it's under the THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW series, Grammar Is Not Optional. It's a very necessary read if you don't know the proper way to punctuation "I went to the store," she said.)
That means CA is next: Coordinating Adjectives, which is exactly what is sounds like. Adjectives that coordinate with each other.
We'll start with this sentence: I love my large, brown dog.
Think of it this way, Large and Brown texted each other and both decided to modify dog. They coordinated with each other. They need to be separated by a comma.
The trick to knowing if two adjectives are Coordinate Adjectives is if you can switch them around, insert and, and not change the meaning of the sentence.
I love my brown and large dog.
Yeah, that sounds a little kooky, but it's still correct and still makes sense.
There are times you don't need a comma, and that's when the adjectives don't coordinate. Grammar Girl uses the example "exquisite custom houseboat." Custom modifies houseboat, but they kind of end up as a couple, modified by exquisite. Make sense? Could you switch them around and still have the same meaning? No. So they're cumulative, not coordinate.
Here's the link to Grammar Girl:
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