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Old 29-May-2003, 12:23
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navi tasan
Default adjectives

Which of these sentences are correct:

1-Soldiers timid and cowardly don't fight well.
2-A soldier came in the room, a soldier timid and cowardly.
3-A soldier timid and cowardly came into the room.
4-They arrest soldiers timid and cowardly.
5-They arrested a soldier timid and cowardly.
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Old 29-May-2003, 12:35
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Default Re: adjectives

In all cases I'd be tempted to place the timid and cowardly bit before the soldier.

Quote:
1-Timid and cowardly soldiers don't fight well.
2-A timid and cowardly soldier came in the room.
3-[ Same as above ]
4-They arrest timid and cowardly soldiers.
5-They arrested a timid and cowardly soldier.
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Old 29-May-2003, 13:12
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navi tasan
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Thanks for all the answers Red.
I always tend to put the adjectives before the noun myself because that way I'm sure that the sentence is correct.
Would you say the other sentences are wrong or just awkward?
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Old 29-May-2003, 17:29
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Default Re: adjectives

Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Which of these sentences are correct:

1-Soldiers timid and cowardly don't fight well.
2-A soldier came in the room, a soldier timid and cowardly.
3-A soldier timid and cowardly came into the room.
4-They arrest soldiers timid and cowardly.
5-They arrested a soldier timid and cowardly.
Which of these sentences are correct:

1-Soldiers timid and cowardly don't fight well. - I would not put adjectives after the noun they modify.

A. Soldiers that are timid and cowardly don't fight well.


2-A soldier came in the room, a soldier timid and cowardly. You don't need to say "a soldier" twice. Get rid of the second "soldier" and the comma. Reverse the word order.

B. A timid and cowardly soldier came into the room.

3-A soldier timid and cowardly came into the room. - I would rewrite this one in the same way I rewrote the number 2.

C. A timid and cowardly soldier came into the room.


4-They arrest soldiers timid and cowardly.

D. They arrest soldiers that are timid and cowardly.

5-They arrested a soldier timid and cowardly.

E. They arrested a timid and cowardly soldier.
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Old 29-May-2003, 21:24
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Default Re: adjectives

REAL English versus poetry perhaps?
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Old 29-May-2003, 21:28
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Default Re: adjectives

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lib
REAL English versus poetry perhaps?
I guess that could be said of them - I hadn't thought of that.
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Old 12-Jun-2003, 23:59
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Default Re: adjectives

Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Which of these sentences are correct:

1-Soldiers timid and cowardly don't fight well.
2-A soldier came in the room, a soldier timid and cowardly.
3-A soldier timid and cowardly came into the room.
4-They arrest soldiers timid and cowardly.
5-They arrested a soldier timid and cowardly.
I'd be tempted to leave out 'timid' and stick to 'cowardly'.
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