1

We often use (opinion + fact) adjective for example : "an interesting young man" , "a nice long table" etc.

And also we use (adverb+adjective) for example : "a reasonably cheap restaurant" , "an extremely good game" etc.

As far as I know we don't use (opinion + opinion) adjective instead of (adverb+opinion adjective)

I mean we don't use "a reasonable cheap restaurant" instead of "a reasonably cheap restaurant"

Is there any rule about this context I don't know ? or Is it just a more idiomatic way to use?

Improve this question
3
  • I don't think there's any rule about that. You can certainly say "a beautiful, tasteful dress", which is two opinions in a row. In your examples, reasonably and extremely just happen to modify the opinion-adjectives that fall after them, but there's no rule that says they have to modify opinions and not facts. – stangdon Sep 16 '18 at 13:03
  • You can use "a reasonable cheap restaurant" but it does not mean the same thing. It means the restaurant is cheap and [the food] is reasonable. – Weather Vane Sep 16 '18 at 13:34
  • We can use 'opinion and opinion', e.g. 'He is an interesting and reasonable young man.' – James Sep 16 '18 at 14:23
1

(opinion[A] + opinion[B]) adjective[C]

Adjectives modify nouns. A is an adjective, B is an adjective, and C is a noun.

This means C is A and B.

interesting young man = The man is young and interesting

(adverb[A] + opinion[B] adjective[C])

Adverbs modify verbs or adjectives.

C is B. A provides more information about B.

So the adverb is modifying the adjective, and the modified adjective is then modifying the noun.

a reasonably cheap restaurant

"Reasonably restaurant" isn't something you can take away from this sentence. It's a cheap restuarant. How cheap? Reasonably cheap.

Now - you can say reasonable restaurant to mean a restaurant that is reasonable in some way, and one of those ways can be price. Context has to support this.

Improve this answer
1
  • Heh heh. Maybe it's a restaurant that is willing to listen to a cogent presentation of the facts and logic and admit when it's wrong. <big wide grin> – puppetsock Sep 17 '18 at 4:03

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.