The Order of Adjectives

We can use more than one adjective before a noun. There is usually one correct order.

It’s beautiful sunny weather. For example: It’s beautiful sunny weather. 2. John has a big brown dog.

We order adjectives according to their meaning. Word order We order adjectives according to their meaning. 1. Opinion 2. Size 3. other qualities 4. Age 5. Color 6. Origin 7. Material 8. Type 9. Purpose

Group Examples 1. Opinion (how good?) wonderful, nice, great, terrible… 2. Size (how big?) small, large, long, tall, short… 3. Most other qualities quiet, famous, important, soft, fast, warm….

Group Examples 4. Age (how old?) old, new 5. Color green, red, brown… 6. Origin (where from?) China, England….

Group Examples 7. Material (made of?) paper, wood, plastic… 8. Type (what kind?) an electric kettle, road transport… 9. Purpose (where for?) a face towel, a bread knife….

2. I bought some nice metal souvenirs. Some examples: 1. It is a big black cat. color size 2. I bought some nice metal souvenirs. opinion material

4. It is a wonderful new hand cream. Some examples: 3. He has old brown shoes. color age 4. It is a wonderful new hand cream. purpose opinion age

5. I had a long boring boat journey. Some examples: 5. I had a long boring boat journey. size quality type 6. It is a beautiful wooden picture frame. opinion purpose material

Exercise: (boots) They’re leather. They’re small. They’re small leather boots. ____________________________________

Exercise: 2. (car) It’s big. It’s yellow. It’s a big yellow car. _______________________________

Exercise: 3. (a vase) It’s glass. It’s lovely. It’s new. It’s a lovely new glass vase. ___________________________________________

Exercise: 4. (a table) small / coffee / plastic It’s a small plastic coffee table. ________________________________________

Exercise: 5. (chair) iron / expensive / garden expensive iron garden chair. It’s an________________________

Exercise: 6. This game is new. It’s for the family. And it’s exciting. This is an_____________________ _____________________________ exciting new family game.

Exercise: 7. This is a chocolate bar. It’s new. And it’s a big bar. _______________________ big new chocolate bar.

Exercise: 8. This phone is mobile. It’s Chinese. And it’s very good. This is a_____________________ _______________________ very good Chinese mobile phone. ---THE END---