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Today's quote:

Sunday, April 28, 2013

OSASCOMP

 

 

A noun all by itself is a lonely thing. It doesn't really tell us much. To really enjoy a noun, you need an adjective. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. When several adjectives describe a noun, they need to be in a certain order. If you didn't know this, then you are a native English speaker who instinctively speaks of “the big, red house”.

"The red, big house" sounds wrong, doesn't it? Just as “I bought a new, beautiful, leather, big black work bag” sounds terrible. And that's where OSASCOMP comes in: adjectives must be arranged in the order of Opinion, then Size, followed by Age, Shape, Colour, and Origin. Finally, Material and Purpose. So, instinctively, you bought yourself a beautiful, big, new, black leather work bag. And that made all the difference.

Another secret of your native language brought to you by your resident bloody wog - or should that be 'bloody resident wog'?