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I opened my white bag and found a sausage biscuit, hash browns, and a 50-dollar bill with a sticky note attached. Have fun with this, Sam had written.

I wonder why "a sticky note attached" instead of "an attached sticky note". "Attached" is adjective, "note" is noun. I can guess author is using "a sticky note attached" with an idea "a sticky note got attached" to express there is someone who have attached note, but I am not sure about this. Can you explain the usage of "attached" in the last position (adjective after noun).

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    Imagine it like "with a sticky note attached [to it]"
    – Esther
    Apr 5, 2022 at 14:30
  • In this case, both versions of the sentence are correct and a native speaker might use either, but the version they wrote is easier to say and therefore might sound more natural.
    – Esther
    Apr 5, 2022 at 14:35
  • I want to know what a 'sausage biscuit' is.
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 5, 2022 at 15:09
  • @MichaelHarvey You've never had a sausage biscuit? You poor man, you're missing out. It's simply a biscuit, cut in half, with a sausage patty between the halves like a sandwich. I particular love them with a fried egg in there, too.
    – Jay
    Apr 5, 2022 at 16:00
  • @Jay - Ah. OK. This is a 'divided by a common language' thing. What Americans call 'biscuits' are very much like what we (Brits) call 'scones' (pronounced either 'scons' or 'scoans' depending on UK region) and we have them as a snack with sweet things like jam ('jelly'), honey etc, or just buttered. We have bacon, sausage patties, etc inside split bread rolls very often. What we call 'biscuits' Americans call 'cookies', I think.
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 5, 2022 at 16:10

2 Answers 2

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In your example, "attached" is a participle adjective. Past participle adjectives, in specific, can sometimes be put after the noun, and sometimes before; see this article from the bbc on where to place adjectives relative to houns.

According to this english.se question, past participle adjectives are usually placed before a noun, except for when they are part of a larger phrase or clause, including an implied clause. In this case, putting "attached" after the noun implies a more complex clause: "with a sticky note attached [to it]" (with the "to it" implied), while "attached" before the noun is also grammatical and idiomatic. Therefore, "attached" in this case can be used either way.

However, the original version is easier to say and read, because "sticky note" as a phrase has the accent on the first syllable, and "attached" has it on the second syllable. Two accented syllables in a row can be more awkward to pronounce, whereas the way it's written the accented syllables are separated by two unaccented syllables, making it slightly more comfortable to say.

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"... with an attached X" and "... with an X attached" mean the same thing. In the first case, "attached" is an adjective. In the second case, it's a verb. "The X is attached to the Y." But either way, there's an X and there's a Y and the X is attached to the Y. I think English speakers say "with an X attached" more often than "with an attached X", but I haven't done a study.

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