- Mar 27, 2006
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Here's something I find kind of fascinating. I'm going to summarize it from another source:
If someone asked you what you see in that picture, the majority of people would say that it's some variant of a "little red rubber ball". The specific adjectives aren't particularly important, but what is, is the order that they're in. "Little" then "Red" then "Rubber". You wouldn't describe it as a "Rubber little red ball". That sounds like something a psychopath would say. But why is that? Well it turns out that there's a grammar rule that we almost all subconsciously follow, despite never being taught it
"The rule is that multiple adjectives are always ranked accordingly: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. Unlike many laws of grammar or syntax, this one is virtually inviolable, even in informal speech. You simply can’t say My Greek Fat Big Wedding, or leather walking brown boots."
www.theguardian.com
Never really thought about this before, but kind of an interesting thing to consider while I wait for this edible to kick in.
If someone asked you what you see in that picture, the majority of people would say that it's some variant of a "little red rubber ball". The specific adjectives aren't particularly important, but what is, is the order that they're in. "Little" then "Red" then "Rubber". You wouldn't describe it as a "Rubber little red ball". That sounds like something a psychopath would say. But why is that? Well it turns out that there's a grammar rule that we almost all subconsciously follow, despite never being taught it
"The rule is that multiple adjectives are always ranked accordingly: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. Unlike many laws of grammar or syntax, this one is virtually inviolable, even in informal speech. You simply can’t say My Greek Fat Big Wedding, or leather walking brown boots."
Order force: the old grammar rule we all obey without realising | Tim Dowling
I had no idea there was a specific order for adjectives until I read a viral post. It was a side-of-the-mallet moment
www.theguardian.com
Never really thought about this before, but kind of an interesting thing to consider while I wait for this edible to kick in.
