The Order of Adjectives

Adjective are words that describe or clarify nouns. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some information about an object’s size, shape, age, color, origin, material, purpose, etc..

Let us look at some of those uses:• It’s a big table. (size)• It’s a round table. (shape)• It’s an old table. (age)• It’s a brown table. (color)• It’s an English table. (origin)• It’s a wooden table. (material)• It’s a lovely table. (opinion)• It’s a broken table. (observation)

• It’s a coffee table. (purpose)

Identifying adjectives by means of their form:Many English adjectives end with these suffixes:•-able/-ible – lovable, visible, irresponsible, comfortable•-al – perenial, factual, legal, nocturnal, viral•-an – Angolan, Peruvian, urban•-ar – stellar, popular, spectacular, vulgar•-ent – intelligent, silent, violent•-ful – beautiful, grateful, tasteful, thoughtful

Identifying adjectives by means of their form:And also:•--ic/-ical – athletic, energetic, magical, scientific•-ine – bovine, canine, feminine, masculine•-ile – agile, docile, fertile, virile•-ive – informative, native, talkative•-less – careless, endless, homeless, timeless•-ous – cautious, dangerous, malodorous•-some – awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome)

Where do you place adjectives in a sentence?Adjectives are usually placed in two positions, before the noun an adjective modifies after linking verbs. Place adjectives directly before the noun it modifies:•Harry spoke to the thin man.•We visited a well-preserved old town.•Sarah lives in a small brick country cottage.

Where do you place adjectives in a sentence?Place adjectives after using a linking verb. Linking verbs are often used in simple sentences with the adjective describing the subject of the sentence.

•That ice cream looks really delicious!•His forehead felt very hot.

Where do you place adjectives in a sentence?Linking verbs include:

be, seem, appear, look, taste, feel

•The night is warm.•They seem very calm and collected.•The men looked exhausted.•The chocolate tasted bitter.•I feel tired.

Order of Adjectives

Sometimes we use more than one adjective in front of a noun:

•She is a nice intelligent young woman.•He had a big square brown wooden box.

What’s the specific order for multiple adjectives?When you list several adjectives in a row, there’s a specific order they need to be written or spoken. It can go like this:•Determiner –an article (a, an, the), a number or amount, a possessive adjective (my, his, her, its, your, our, their), or a demonstrative (this, that, these, those).•Observation/Opinion – Beautiful, expensive, gorgeous, broken, delicious, ugly

•Size – Huge, tiny, 4-foot-tall•Shape – Square, circular, oblong•Age – 10-year-old, new, antique•Color – Black, red, blue-green•Origin – Roman, English, Angolan

•Material – Silk, silver, plastic, wooden, golden•Qualifier – A noun or verb acting as adjective

What’s the specific order for multiple adjectives?This is the correct order for adjectives that come directly before a noun, and they are separated by commas.

My beautiful, big, square, antique, light brown, French, wooden coffee table was broken in the move.

What’s the specific order for multiple adjectives?Or…

I have a beautiful, big, square, antique, light brown, French, wooden coffee table.

Opinion adjectives:

Some adjectives give a general opinion. We can use these adjectives to describe almost any noun:

good bad lovely  strange

beautiful nice bril l iant excellent

awful important wonderful nasty

Opinion adjectives:

Some adjectives give a specific opinion. We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds of noun:•Food: tasty; delicious•Furniture, buildings: comfortable; uncomfortable•People, animals: clever; intelligent; friendly

Opinion adjectives:

We usually put a general opinion in front of a specific opinion:

•Nice tasty soup.•A nasty uncomfortable armchair.•A lovely intelligent animal.

Opinion adjectives:

Usually we put an adjective that gives an opinion in front of an adjective that is descriptive:

•a nice red dress;•a silly old man;•those horrible yellow curtains

Opinion adjectives:

We often have two adjectives in front of a noun:

•a handsome young man;•a big black car;•that horrible big dog.

Opinion adjectives:

Sometimes we have three adjectives, but this is unusual:

•a nice handsome young man;•a big black American car;•that horrible big fierce dog

Opinion adjectives:

We use some adjectives only after a link verb:

•Our teacher was ill. •She didn’t look very well.

afraid alive alone asleep

content glad  ill ready

sorry sure unable well

Opinion adjectives:

Some of the commonest -ed adjectives are normally used only after a link verb:

•annoyed; finished; bored; pleased; thrilled.– Our teacher was pleased.– My uncle was very thrilled when he heard the news.

– The policeman seemed to be very annoyed.

Opinion adjectives:

A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun:

•He lives in the eastern district.•There were countless problems with the new machinery.

northsoutheastwest

northernsoutherneasternwestern

countlessoccasionallone

eventfulindooroutdoor

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