Descriptive Words that Come BEFORE a NOUN

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Pre-noun Modifiers
(Descriptive Words that Come Before Nouns)
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1) Determiners words that usually begin noun
phrases. This includes

• Articles (an, an, the)
• Possessive Nouns (Mikes, Sheilas)
• Possessive Pronouns (his, her, their, our)
• Demonstrative Pronouns (that, those, this)
• Numbers (one, several, fifty-five thousand)
• Combos (all my, one such, a few)
• Other Common Words

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Determiners in action
Woman Im bored working. Lets sing that
song! Man Hmm, I cant determine which song
you mean
Woman You know, that one song! (or this song,
or our song, or their song, or Caseys
song) Man Oh yes, that song! Lets all sing
it!
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2) Adjectives Nouns When both an adjective
and a noun are describing the same word, the
adjective must appear before the noun.
Most people would not say, Mikes baseball new
glove.
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3) Adjective Adjective when two or more
descriptive words describe the same noun.

• Examples
• his little black book
• the long dirt road
• a big red dog
• that beautiful, scandalous night
• a strange, wonderful experience
• a bitter, angry old man

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Question

• When do you use a comma between adjectives, and
  when do you not?

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Hints on Comma Use

• When both adjectives are of the same class (for
  example, both bitter and angry are emotions),
  use a comma.
• a bitter, angry old man
• (Note old is not an emotion, so there is no
  comma between angry and old.)
• If it makes sense to put and between the two
  descriptive words (as in a strange and wonderful
  experience), use a comma.
• a strange, wonderful experience

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4) Adverb Adjective when one word describes
another word, which describes the noun.

• Examples
• An excruciatingly painful injury
• An extremely bright student
• A really important interview
• A well-developed essay
• A smooth-talking politician
• A half-baked idea

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Question

• When do you use a hyphen between two descriptive
  words, and when do you not?

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Hints on Hyphen Use

• Hyphens are often used when the word right before
  the noun (the adjective) ends in -ing, -en,
  or -ed.
• Spanish-speaking community, well-written book
• NEVER use a hyphen when the word describing the
  adjective (adverb) ends in -ly.
• exceptionally talented athlete, really difficult
  test
• Use a hyphen when both descriptive words combine
  to form a single modifier.

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Question How would the meanings of the
following noun phrases change without the hyphens?

• two-word verbs
• all-around athletes
• free-form sculpture
• high-risk jump
• three-point shots
• almost-perfect game

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5) Adjective Phrases when a whole phrase acts as
a single adjective describing a noun.

• Examples
• Back-to-back champions
• Off-the-wall idea
• Black-and-white issue
• End-of-the-year party
• An Im-not-going-to-tell-you-whats-wrong-because
  -I-think-you-should-already-know-and-I-want-to-mak
  e-you-feel-guilty look

Note Sometimes a phrase that uses hyphens
before a noun will not use them in other places.
(Example The party was at the end of the year.)
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Integration

• Now take out your descriptive essay.
• After reading through your essay, go back and
  underline all of the descriptive words that you
  used before nouns.
• Check to make sure that you correctly used commas
  and hyphens.
• Add new descriptive words for some of your nouns,
  playing with commas and hyphens to form
  multiple-word phrases.
• If you wish, you may work in groups
  to help each other come
  up with creative phrases to use
  in your essays.

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Acknowledgements

• This grammar lesson was designed by Mandi
  Zuhlke, who borrowed information
  from the following source
• Kolln, Martha, and Robert Funk. Understanding
  English Grammar. 6th ed. New York Pearson
  Education, Inc., 2002.