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Exactly. I tend to think of it as relating to how tightly the adjective is bound to the word. The first adjective before the noun modifies the noun the most. Th
by SamBam 6y ago
Exactly. I tend to think of it as relating to how tightly the adjective is bound to the word. The first adjective before the noun modifies the noun the most. The adjective before modifies that tuple. The adjective before that modifies that group, etc.
"Hand me the green knife." / "Which one? There are two: one metal and one plastic." / "The metal green knife."
"Hand me the metal knife." / "Which one? There are two: one green and one blue." / "The green metal knife."
- d1sxeyes 6y agoFor me "the metal green knife" just sounds weird. I'd just say "the metal one". I can't think of an example in which "the metal green knife" sounds natural.
- selimthegrim 6y agoIf you are describing quality of the color “metallic green knife” - like the car in My Cousin Vinny for example
- selimthegrim 6y agoMetallic mint green to be pedantic
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- soupson 6y agoIf there were a table of several objects, many of which were green knives, only one of which were made of metal. You are standing out of arm's reach and need someone close to the table to hand you precisely the green knife that will get the job done: the metal green knife.