Adjectives usually go before the nouns they modify.
- She is a nice girl. (Here the adjective nice modifies the noun girl and goes before it.)
- He is an intelligent boy.
- That was a clever idea.
When two or more adjectives come before a noun, they are usually separated by commas.
- A large, round table
- A short, fair, pretty girl
Note that we do not put a comma after the last adjective in the series.
When the last two are adjectives of color, they are usually separated by and.
- A black and white cow (NOT black white cow)
- Red and blue socks
When two or more adjectives come in the predicative position, we use and between the last two.
- It was hot and sultry.
- The boy was handsome, smart and polite.
- The clouds looked white and fluffy.
Sometimes we put an adjective after the noun for the sake of emphasis.
- There lived an old man strong and wicked. (More emphatic than ‘There lived a strong and wicked old man.’)
In phrases such as those given below, the adjective always comes after the noun.
- Time-immemorial
- Heir-apparent
- God Almighty
- President elect
In lines of poetry, too, the adjective is sometimes put after the noun.
- O men with sisters dear! (Instead of ‘O men with dear sisters’)
