Adjective forms can be created from some nouns and verbs by adding a prefix or suffix.
prefixes
(in)tangible
Tangible evidence is obtained from reliable sources.
Intangible assets cannot be touched. These include copyright, trademark and goodwill.
(non-)exclusive
My client has an exclusive agreement with their supplier for this product.
Non-exclusive SLA’s seem to be more common these days.
(dis)similar
Some say that the English language is similar to German.
Nuisance is dissimilar to trespass.
suffixes
truth(ful)
The truth is, this we don’t believe that your client is being truthful.
courage(ous)
Only those that have courage will be courageous.
judge(ment)
The judge passed judgement in the defendant’s favour.
(non-)commonplace
It is commonplace that defendants are finding that they no longer qualify for Legal Aid.
Gavels are non-commonplace in British courts.
Adjective word order
When describing a noun, adjectives usually follow an order. General adjectives come before specific and opinions before facts:
[A good rule for adjective order would be: opinion – size-age-colour-origin-material]
The breathtaking (opinion) expansive (size) blue (colour) ocean.
My extravagant (opinion) old (age) grandmother from Scotland (origin).
The most delicious (opinion) large (size) plate of plant grown (origin) food I have eaten was in Cardiff!
If there are adjectives of the same type, we separate them with commas:
The beautiful pleasant view was an incredible thing to see when I looked out of the hotel window. (these adjectives are both opinions)
There is sandy stony beach on the edge of town. (these adjectives are material)
In the case of a sentence where there are different types of adjectives, we do not use a comma to separate them:
That car is an expensive (opinion) Italian (origin) model that I will never be able to afford. (different types of adjectives)
The beautiful (opinion) long (size) old (age) white (colour) Russian (origin) stone (material) path is over there. (there are no commas here either as these are different types of adjectives)
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What is the longest sentence you can think of full of adjectives in the correct order? Would you use commas or not? Why, why or why not?
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