word order - Inverted adjective in "in matters political"


In in matters political, one can notice the inversion of the standard adjective-noun order. Here's an example in context:



political obligation is only one consideration among many in a determination in how we ought to act in matters political



I would have expected "in political matters." When can such construction be used? Is it fit to writing as well as speech, or would you rather say "in political matters" when in colloquial contexts?



Answer



While done much less often in English than some other languages, such inversions are used for emphasis. Here the 'matter' is more important and the fact that it is a 'political matter' is less important. Try removing the adjective and see if it significantly alters the meaning. In this case the second 'political' only adds a bit more clarity.


We use these constructs sparingly, but in both conversation and writing. If it had been worded as you expected, it would've been understood the same, because we tend to emphasize the subject, verb and object and place less emphasis on prepositional phrases and their objects.


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