1. Adjective Issues for ESL Writers
Dr. Linda Bergmann, Professor of English, Purdue
Rationale: Welcome to “Adjective Issues for ESL Writers.” This presentation is designed to introduce ESL writers to the rules that dictate adjective use in standard written English. The nine slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of the elements of adjective use. This presentation is ideal for engineering and science professionals who struggle with standard written English.
This presentation may be supplemented with the following INDOT OWL resources:
- “Adjective Issues for ESL Writers” handout
- “Intra-Paragraph Organization for ESL Writers” presentation
- “Verb Use for ESL Writers” presentation
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page
Writer and Designer: Dr. Bergmann and Josh Prenosil
Contributors: Josh Prenosil
Revising Author: Allen Brizee
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
© Copyright Purdue University, 2000, 2006, 2008

2. Adjectives Adjectives describe nouns or noun phrases.
They are almost always placed in this order:
Number
Evaluation
Physical Description (size, shape, age, color)
Classifying Adjectives
An instructor might explain to students that there are actually seven ordinate rules, but these four best apply to technical writing. The complete order is: 1) number 2) evaluation 3) physical description 4) Nationality 5) Religion 6) classifying adjective.
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3. Adjective Rules The sixteen durable oblong rods undergird
Rule One: The adjectives are placed before the noun if sentence does not use a ‘to be’ verb to define the noun.
The sixteen durable oblong rods undergird
Number Evaluation Shape Subject
the bridge section.
The two experienced and certified
Number Evaluation Class
engineers accompany the undergrads.
Subject
Depending on the age and experience level of the students/participants, the presenter may want to point out that the adjectives retain their order though one species of adjective is missing. The first sentence includes shape but not class; the second has class but not shape. If a sentence has both physical description and class, the physical description (shape) should come before class.
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4. The road was long, flat, and two-lane.
Adjective Rules
Rule Two: The adjectives are placed after the noun if a ‘to be’ verb is used to define the noun.
The road was long, flat, and two-lane.
Shape Shape Class
The mixture is toxic and hazardous.
Evaluation Class
A presenter might point out to the students/participants that the adjectives retain the same order if they come after a ‘to be’ verb. The only difference is the placement of the adjectival string in relation to the verb.
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“To be” verbs are conjugations of “to be”: am, is, are, was, were

5. Comma Rules for Adjectives
Commas always separate coordinate
adjectives. Coordinate adjectives have the same
status in the sentence, as in the following
examples:
He was a difficult, stubborn child.
The quick, efficient roadwork helped the
city a lot.
The crew used meticulous, precise
measurements to complete the work.
A presenter might ask students/participants to compose sentences that have coordinate adjectives. For example, the presenter might ask participants to fill in the blanks in the following sentence with coordinate adjectives: The ______________, _______________ tests proved useful in the creation of the document.
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6. Comma Rules for Adjectives
How will you know if the adjectives are coordinate?
Ask these two questions:
If the answer to these questions is yes, the adjectives are
coordinate and should be separated by a comma. Never put a
comma between the last adjective and the noun.
Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in a different order?
Does the sentence make sense if and goes between the adjectives?
If the presenter has asked their students/participants to compose coordinate adjectives for an example sentence, the students can use the questions in this slide to test their success. Additionally, the instructor can use these questions to show the difference between coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives.
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7. 1) The saw cuts were (clean deep straight).
Practice Examples
1) The saw cuts were (clean deep
straight).
2) The team of (Lebanese chemical
well-renowned) engineers visited
campus.
Order the words in parenthesis to create a sentence with appropriate adjective order. Ask the ‘coordinate adjective’ questions to determine if you need a comma between adjectives.
The presenter should allow the students/participants to work on ordering the adjectives individually, in pairs, or in groups.
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8. Practice Answers 1) The saw cuts were clean, deep, and straight.
Evaluation Shape
straight.
Shape
2) The team of well-renowned, Lebanese
Evaluation Class
chemical engineers visited campus.
Class
The instructor should point out that when the coordinate adjectives come at the end of a series after a ‘to be’ verb, they are generally separated by a comma and the conjunction ‘and.’
Note: the second example above is somewhat anomalous. Though ‘chemical’ is a classifying adjective, it is usually considered part and parcel of the noun phrase when the noun phrase describes this kind of engineer. As a result, it does not follow the typical rules of adjective placement. An instructor may want to show the class how this sentence would be different if ‘chemical’ were replaced with ‘female.’
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9. Practice Examples
3) The (pavement control group unhardened) mixture was used for the final experiment.
4) The (graduate industrious
intelligent) student worked hard in the class.
Order the words in parenthesis to create a sentence with appropriate adjective order. Ask the ‘coordinate adjective’ questions to determine if you need a comma between adjectives.
The presenter should allow the students/participants to work on ordering the adjectives individually, in pairs, or in groups.
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10. Practice Answers 3) The unhardened pavement control group
physical descript Class Class
mixture was used for the final
experiment.
4) The industrious, intelligent graduate
Evaluation Evaluation Class
student worked hard in the class.
Sentence #3 above is another anomalous example. In this case, control group is again considered an essential part of ‘mixture,’ so no comma is required between the two classifying adjectives. The instructor should here emphasize that the punctuation rules for coordinating adjectives is never hard and fast; they are always contingent on commonly-accepted practice. Often, a writer will have to have extensive practice with the English language before they can correctly and consistently employ them.
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11. Adapted by Joshua Prenosil and Linda Bergmann from The Thomson Handbook by David Blakesley and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen
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12. For More Information Contact the Purdue Writing Lab:
Drop In: Heavilon 226
Call:
On the web:
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