Which sentence requires a comma between coordinate adjectives?
Responses
A Decomposers clean up numerous dead organisms.Decomposers clean up numerous dead organisms.
B Scavengers are mostly carnivorous components of ecosystems.Scavengers are mostly carnivorous components of ecosystems.
C They release vital life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need.They release vital life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need.
D A compost is a beneficial organic environment for dead organisms to decay.
Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that appear in a sequence to modify the same noun and are equally important in describing the noun. They are typically separated by commas. In order to determine if adjectives are coordinate, you can try two tests:
1. Put "and" between the adjectives. If the sentence still makes sense, they are probably coordinate.
2. Switch the order of the adjectives. If the sentence still makes sense, they are probably coordinate.
Looking at the sentences provided (which have been duplicated within each option):
A) Decomposers clean up numerous dead organisms.
- "Numerous" and "dead" do not qualify for a comma between them because "dead" is not an adjective that can be coordinated with "numerous." "Dead organisms" is a phrase where "dead" modifies "organisms," and "numerous" indicates the quantity.
B) Scavengers are mostly carnivorous components of ecosystems.
- "Mostly carnivorous" does not require a comma because "mostly" is an adverb modifying the adjective "carnivorous," not another adjective.
C) They release vital life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need.
- "Vital" and "life-sustaining" could potentially be considered coordinate adjectives. Let's apply the tests:
1. They release vital and life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need.
2. They release life-sustaining vital energy that plants and animals need.
Both sentences still make sense, indicating that "vital" and "life-sustaining" are indeed coordinate adjectives.
D) A compost is a beneficial organic environment for dead organisms to decay.
- "Beneficial" and "organic" do not require a comma because they do not pass the tests for coordinate adjectives. If you say "a compost is a beneficial and organic environment," it might imply that it's both beneficial in general and separately organic, which could seem redundant since being organic is part of what makes it beneficial for compost. Meanwhile, switching the order to "an organic beneficial environment" can sound awkward.
Based on these analyses, sentence C (They release vital life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need) is the one that would require a comma between the coordinate adjectives if they were to be punctuated in such a way. So the proper punctuated form would be: "They release vital, life-sustaining energy that plants and animals need." However, contemporary grammar often allows the omission of the comma if the meaning remains clear.