Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomisimo
(although there is some leeway with adjectives that fit into more than one category, such as "rusty" or "colorful" in the above examples)
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I had started to type a response earlier, but didn't post it because I was lacking in some information.
But anyway, I agree. It seems that adjectives that describe similar features can be interchanged, but that there's still an underlying order to them. I never learned an order, so I don't know if it's a set grammatical rule, or just an artifact of how we're use to saying it. I
do know an English grammar expert though, so I'll ask her.
It seems to me that the order is
[Opinion adjectives*] -> [Physical Features: Age, size, ect.] -> [Color] -> [Personal distinctions: Race, Nationality, religion, etc.].
But that leaves large gaps that maybe someone, or ourselves as a collective effort, can fill in.
Oh, and I astrix'ed the "opinion adjectives" because playing with them, you seem to be able to move them anywhere you want and it
works, but some places sound better than others.