Postmodification with adjectives

Question

Hello, every one!I have following two questions and will appreciate on your kind replies;1. She was a woman tall. (x) =&gt; She was a tall woman. (0)2. She was a woman tall and beautiful. (0). This sentence works fine because the adjectives are bundled.3. I talked to the woman tall and beautiful. (x)4. I need fresh water to drink. (0)5.  I need water fresh to drink. (x)- While above 2 is correct, why 3 is grammatically incorrect? Can't I analyze it as 'I talked to the woman (who was)  tall and beautiful'?- Also, why above 5 is  grammatically incorrect?Would hope to hear from you with grammatic theories.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

With some exceptions and set phrases, (e.g. prince charming, attorney general, casino royale) adjectives in English are placed before the noun they modify.
Placing adjectives after the noun, can be for poetic or literary effect, as in

2. She was a woman, tall and beautiful.

3. I talked to a woman, tall and beautiful. (The definite article does not work in either sentence Both sentences are poetic or literary. We don't use this style in conversations.)

I talked to the tall, beautiful woman.

Magazine titles can use postpositive adjectives

House beautiful, not "Beautiful house"

5. I need water safe (enough) to drink. (This sentence works fine with the appropriate adjective)

You can read details about postpositive adjectives here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpositive_adjective

Postmodification with adjectives

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