He has brown, curly hair. / I have brown, long hair.

[xiaoen]

1. He has curly, brown hair. (correct)
2. He has brown, curly hair.

3. I have long, brown hair. (correct)
4. I have brown, long hair.

Hi,
I know that 1 and 3 are correct. But What about 2 and 4?

 

[Tdol]

I would say that they're not wrong, but do you have a reason to swap the order?

 

[GoesStation]

4 is unnatural. We put size before color in strings of adjectives.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Source: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

 

[xiaoen]

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

The above link says:

size + shape + age + color



http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/ordering-multiple-adjectives/
http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/adjectives/order-of-adjectives/

And the above two links say:

size + age + shape + color


Now, which one is standard and correct?

 

[Tdol]

I would put size before colour ordinarily, but that doesn't mean that they can never be reversed. Meaning trumps these rules.

 

[xiaoen]

I would put size before colour ordinarily

But none of the English learning websites have ordered the adjectives like this.

Have they?

 

[GoesStation]

But none of the English learning websites have ordered the adjectives like this.

Have they?

They should all put size before color, but other categories come in between.

The order of adjectives is hard for native speakers to explain. It's a very deep part of the language which we know intuitively. You'll never see it discussed in style guides or grammar books aimed at native speakers because we simply know what feels right.

 

[xiaoen]

They should all put size before color

But no website says this. Do you have a source for this?.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Would you consider post #4 a source?

 

[xiaoen]

Would you consider post #4 a source?

Yes, but what Tdol says is in opposite with your link.

They should all put size before color

 

[GoesStation]

They should all put size before color, but other categories come in between.

But no website says this. Do you have a source for this?.

I didn't say immediately before color. Consider the alphabet; K comes before M and immediately before ​L.

 

[xiaoen]

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

The above link says:

size + shape + age + color


http://www.ef.com/english-resources/...le-adjectives/
http://www.gingersoftware.com/conten...of-adjectives/

And the above two links say:

size + age + shape + color


Now, which one is standard and correct?

My problem is with "age" and "shape".

 

[GoesStation]

They should all put size before color, but other categories come in between.

The order of adjectives is hard for native speakers to explain. It's a very deep part of the language which we know intuitively. You'll never see it discussed in style guides or grammar books aimed at native speakers because we simply know what feels right.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

The above link says:

size + shape + age + color


http://www.ef.com/english-resources/...le-adjectives/
http://www.gingersoftware.com/conten...of-adjectives/

And the above two links say:

size + age + shape + color


Now, which one is standard and correct?

My problem is with "age" and "shape".

I think age usually goes before shape and the first link has it wrong.

However, the rule isn't always strict. There are many cases where native speakers might choose different orders. For example, either curly brown hair or brown, curly hair​ is possible. Note that I added a comma in the second string.

 

[xiaoen]

I think age usually goes before shape.

But most of the websites disagree with what this.

Look at these please:

1. Determiners – a, an, the, my, your, several, etc.
2. Observations – lovely, boring, stimulating, etc.
3. Size – tiny, small, huge, etc.
4. Shape – round, square, rectangular, etc.
5. Age – old, new, ancient, etc.
6. Color – red, blue, green, etc.
7. Origin – British, American, Mexican, etc.
8. Material – gold, copper, silk, etc.
9. Qualifier – limiters for compound nouns.

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/adjective-word-order

https://oilpatchwriting.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/the-royal-order-of-adjectives/

I'm getting confused about the order of "age" and "shape".

 

[GoesStation]

Follow the recommendation of the majority of resources you find. Some of the categories' positions are more fixed than others, so you may find different recommendations.

 

[emsr2d2]

I definitely disagree with the order of 4 and 5 in post 15.

I have an old, round mirror. :tick:
I have a round, old mirror. :cross: