Not using くて in i-adjective Conjunctions


I've been reading 猿蟹 from [this website](http://life.ou.edu/stories/).

I've come across a sentence that puzzles me grammatically:

> まだ **青い固い** 柿の実を、蟹に投げつけました。

Here, there is a conjunction of two i-adjectives, but the writer doesn't use
くて to join them (to say 青くて固い）. I wonder why this is so?




In general, this pattern is found when the second adjective and the following
noun are treated as one set phrase. (Compare "a kind old man" vs "a kind and
old man" in English; "old man" is clearly treated as a set phrase in the
former case.) In addition, くて is often avoided in lyrics or poems where people
sometimes ignore formal grammar in favor of rhythm.

But this does not explain your example since this text is prose and 固い柿の実 is
not a set phrase. I think this まだ modifies both 青い and 固い because a 柿 fruit
gets softer as it ripens. So, in your case, I think まだ青くて固い柿の実 is better, and
I don't see any good reason to prefer 青い固い here. It doesn't sound terribly
bad, either, so I think you can regard this as a trivial mistake, and get
moving.




In general, this pattern is found when the second adjective and the following
noun are treated as one set phrase. (Compare "a kind old man" vs "a kind and
old man" in English; "old man" is clearly treated as a set phrase in the
former case.) In addition, くて is often avoided in lyrics or poems where people
sometimes ignore formal grammar in favor of rhythm.

But this does not explain your example since this text is prose and 固い柿の実 is
not a set phrase. I think this まだ modifies both 青い and 固い because a 柿 fruit
gets softer as it ripens. So, in your case, I think まだ青くて固い柿の実 is better, and
I don't see any good reason to prefer 青い固い here. It doesn't sound terribly
bad, either, so I think you can regard this as a trivial mistake, and get
moving.

