Calling Collect

Summer back-to-basics tip #9: And so it goes Just because two adjectives (or modifiers) precede a noun doesn’t mean a comma has to come between them.   Use a comma (in lieu of "and") if you could use the word "and" between two adjectives without changing the sense of the phrase. Michael's big and preppy wardrobe impressed everyone he dated.   So: Michael's big, preppy wardrobe impressed everyone he dated.     But take a look at this sentence: Smith’s messy blond hair gave her a devil-may-care look.   The second adjective – "blond" – is an integral element of the phrase "blond hair" (grammaroholics would call this a noun phrase; I try to stay away from such technical unpleasantries). You wouldn't write that it's Smith's messy and blond hair that gave her a devil-may-care look because it's not both adjectives which, separately, modify "hair" – instead, "messy" modifies "blond hair," so no comma is used.   Summer back-to-basics tip #10: Calling collect Collective nouns – words that refer to a group of things, such as "total," "majority," "minority," and "number" – can take either singular or plural verbs because sometimes they mean the group as an entity (singular) and sometimes they mean the members of that group (plural).   To figure out which verb form a given word takes, ask yourself whether you’re thinking of the whole (singular) or the parts (plural).   Here’s a hint: "The" before the word (the total, the majority) is usually a clue that it takes a singular verb since "the" implies a single entity, whereas "a" (a total, a majority) usually indicates a plural verb will follow.  The minority is in charge. (The "minority" here is a single group.) A majority of people are unhappy. (The "majority" here comprises the various members of the group.)