Which sentence correctly places no comma between an adjective and a noun?

Which sentence correctly places no comma between an adjective and a noun?

• A. The red car rolled down the street.
• B. The red, car rolled down the street.
• C. The red car rolled down the street, today.
• D. Red car rolled down the street.

Answer: (A)

When an adjective directly describes a noun in a simple noun phrase, no comma should come between them. Commas are used for coordinate adjectives that could each equally describe the noun (often separated by "and") or for nonessential or introductory information, but not for a straightforward color plus noun. In the sentence, the color red directly describes the car, forming a normal, uninterrupted noun phrase. That’s why there’s no comma after red. The other options insert punctuation that disrupts this standard pattern. A comma between the adjective and the noun breaks the direct modifier rule—those two words are not behaving as separate, equally weighted descriptors. The sentence with a comma after street adds an unnecessary pause that isn’t needed for the main action, and the version without an article is less standard in ordinary prose, even though it can appear in headlines. The clean, typical prose example uses the determiner and keeps the modifier and noun together without a comma.

When an adjective directly describes a noun in a simple noun phrase, no comma should come between them. Commas are used for coordinate adjectives that could each equally describe the noun (often separated by "and") or for nonessential or introductory information, but not for a straightforward color plus noun.

In the sentence, the color red directly describes the car, forming a normal, uninterrupted noun phrase. That’s why there’s no comma after red.

The other options insert punctuation that disrupts this standard pattern. A comma between the adjective and the noun breaks the direct modifier rule—those two words are not behaving as separate, equally weighted descriptors. The sentence with a comma after street adds an unnecessary pause that isn’t needed for the main action, and the version without an article is less standard in ordinary prose, even though it can appear in headlines. The clean, typical prose example uses the determiner and keeps the modifier and noun together without a comma.