英文形容詞(Adjectives)順序你寫對了嗎?

Wordvice

9 年前

今天我們來看看為什麼形容詞如此重要，以及多個形容詞在文章內該如何排序？

形容詞

形容詞就是用來形容名詞的單字，它們提供關於人、事、地和物的額外訊息。例如:

The large man sitting beside me called for the flight attendant. The flight attendant was very attentive and polite.

善用形容詞能使句子更加生動，來比較下方兩個句子就知道了:

The birds flew out of the window and into the sky.
vs.
The little black birds flew out the window and into the bright blue sky.

因為第二句提供更多更詳細的資訊，所以在閱讀時能想像出更具體的景象。

當同一句中出現多個形容詞時，請依照下方的順序將其排列:

Quantity (how many of it): Few, several, many, five, 100, etc.
Opinion (the value of the noun): Exquisite, charming, ugly, difficult, easy, friendly, etc.
Size: Big, small, short, tall, etc.
Condition/ State: Dry, wet, hungry, shiny, cracked, slippery, etc.
Age: Young, old, 10-years-old, new, etc.
Shape: Round, obtuse, square, triangular, etc.
Color: Red, blue, green, etc.
Pattern (the pattern or design it was made with): Checkered, spotted, plaid, etc.
Origin (where it is from): American, African, Asian, European, Martian, etc.
Material (what it is made of): Glass, wood, plastic, concrete, etc.
Purpose (what it is used for): Shopping, training, walking, etc.

當兩個以上的同類別形容詞出現時，善用逗號和連接詞像是and 來連接這些位置可互換的形容詞。例如:

The man in the red and yellow shirt was waiting outside the door.
She was a lively and carefree person.
There was a cold, hungry look in his eyes.

同樣類別的形容詞中間的逗號當然也可以刪除，但這可以會改變原意，例如:

“There was a cold, hungry look in his eyes.”

有逗號時的意思是: He had a cold look in his eyes, and he had a hungry look in his eyes.

沒有逗號時的意思是: He had a hungry look that was cold.

在英文文法中使用逗號要格外小心。