Have you ever wondered about the rhyme and reason behind punctuating descriptive phrases? Why do we use a hyphen in “a well-built house,” a comma in “a strong, stable house,” and no punctuation at all in “a big red house”? Speaking of which, why does it sound weird when you phrase it “a red big house”?

These descriptive phrases that we stick in front of an object are called modifiers because, well, they modify our understanding of the object. There are three types of modifiers: cumulative, coordinate, and compound. Each type structures meaning in a different way. We use different punctuation for each type of modifier to give readers an unconscious cue for how to structure a phrase’s meaning.

So, to understand how to punctuate descriptive phrases, we need to take a closer look at each type of modifier.

Cumulative Modifiers

A cumulative modifier is simply a series of descriptive words that build upon each other like a rolling snowball. To see what I mean, let’s look at an example:

The five big white spaceships floated into space.

The words the, five, big, and white all build upon each other to describe the spaceship. Some descriptors (adjectives) build upon each other like this and some don’t.

You can tell whether or not the adjectives are snowballing together by putting an and between them. Rephrasing it as, “the five and big white spaceships” or “the five big and white spaceships” sounds very off. Cumulative modifiers also sound weird when you put them in a different order. “The white big five spaceships” sounds off too.

If splitting up the adjectives with an and or changing their order sounds wrong, then you know the descriptive phrase is a cumulative modifier. Because cumulative modifiers stick so close together, we don’t split them up with commas. You can keep them nice and simple.

You’re right – saying “a red big house” or “white big five spaceships” sounds wrong, but why? Most explanations I’ve found skip the why here because the reason is technical. I think you can handle a full explanation, so here goes. If you stick with me, I promise it’ll make more sense in the end.

Modifier Hierarchy

All of us fluent English speakers have an unconscious hierarchy for how to order modifiers. You already know this hierarchy unconsciously, but I’ll give you the deets so your conscious mind can catch up. Here’s the order:

1. Articles (the, a, an), demonstrative pronouns (this, those), and possessives (his, Amelia’s)
2. Numbers (five, eighteen)
3. Judgements and observations (interesting, ridiculous, funny, chaotic)
4. Size (big, small)
5. Age (young, old, five-year-old)
6. Shape, length, or appearance (round, short)
7. Colour (purple, blue)
8. Origin, ethnicity, or religion (Canadian, Jewish)
9. Material (plastic, metal, wood)
10. Purpose (swimming suit) or noun used as an adjective (baseball cap)

You do not need to consciously memorize this list. I’ve added it just so you can understand the concept of how it works. In a cumulative modifier, each descriptive word is at a different level on this list. Think back to “the big red house” or “the five big white spaceships.” All of those descriptive words fit on a different level in this list.

Coordinate Modifiers

Coordinate modifiers, on the other hand, are a group of descriptors that sit on the same level of the above list. Freed from order hierarchy, they describe an object independently and don’t have a snowballing effect on the native-speaker’s ear. As such, you can switch these descriptors around or put the word and between them and they’ll still sound right. Here are some examples:

• The wide, straight road // the straight and wide road
• The clever, underestimated princess // the underestimated and clever princess
• The unrelenting, fierce storm // the fierce and unrelenting storm

You’ll naturally order these modifiers according to your desired emphasis. As you can see in the examples, the standard punctuation here is pretty simple: if it’s missing an and, put in a comma instead.

Some Rules Are Made to Be Broken

As you may have already realized from my post on the Oxford comma, I love facing copy-editing controversy head-on. So, I’ll let you in on a little secret: not all copy editors follow this standard punctuation rule (gasp!). Here’s what copy editor Amy Einsohn has to say on the matter in her beloved guide, The Copyeditor’s Handbook:

The convention of placing a comma between coordinate adjectives seems to be fading, perhaps as part of the trend toward open punctuation, perhaps because the absence of this comma rarely confuses readers, or perhaps because the distinction between coordinate and noncoordinate adjectives is sometimes hard to apply.

Comma usage is a hazy field. No rule is ever set in stone, language changes over time, and in cases like this it comes down to internal consistency and the author’s preferences. Omitting unnecessary commas can make a text feel more open and fast-paced. Comma-heavy texts tend to read slower, perhaps even encouraging deeper thought. Which style is best for your writing? It depends on your desired tone and intended message. Just try to be internally consistent within a single piece, and if you’re formally publishing, hire a copy editor to help you with the finicky details.

Wait, you still haven’t explained when to use hyphens! You’re right. I know this piece is getting on the longer side, so I’ll try to make this quick.

When to Use Hyphens in Modifiers

Sometimes, there’s a modifier inside another modifier. These meta-modifiers are called compound modifiers. This is where hyphens come in and help us navigate a potentially confusing phrase. When you remove a part of these meta-modifiers, the phrase either means something different or it just doesn’t make sense. Look at the examples I’ve already used in this post:

• well-built house (not a “well house” or a “built house”)
• native-speaker’s ear (not a “native ear”)
• copy-editing controversy (not a “copy controversy”)
• comma-heavy texts (not a “comma text” or “heavy text”)

Unlike the comma in coordinate modifiers, hyphens in these meta-modifiers are really important for clarity of meaning. This hyphen is not fading away, so be sure to use it when you spot a compound modifier.

This rule does have an exception, though. Don’t hyphenate a descriptor that ends in -ly (an adverb), like quickly or surprisingly. Since adverbs can’t modify an object (noun), the nested meaning is clear without the hyphens. You would never say “the quickly athlete” or “the surprisingly party,” but you could say “the quickly advancing athlete” or “the surprisingly entertaining party.”

Putting It All Together

Let’s look at this post’s title. “Oddly confusing” and “often-overlooked” are two meta-modifiers in a row that describe “conundrum.” But oddly ends in -ly, so it can’t be hyphenated. You could also put the word and between the two meta-modifiers, so there needs to be a comma between them as well. Thus: The Oddly Confusing, Often-Overlooked Conundrum.

Don’t worry, most modifiers are not that convoluted.

I hope you’ve found this guide helpful. As always, if you have any lingering questions, feel free to share them below!