ADJECTIVE ORDER

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun -- for example, "He's a silly young fool," or "she's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type. This article will explain the different types of adjectives and the correct order for them.

The basic types of adjectives

An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult

A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is. Examples: large, tiny, enormous, little

An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples: ancient, new, young, old

A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular

A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something. Examples: blue, pink, reddish, grey

An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples: French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek

A material adjective describes what something is made from. Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper

A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples: sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin") Some examples of adjective order Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Purpose a silly young English man a huge round metal bowl a small red sleeping bag Another Example : a beautiful young Indonesian girl. a nice huge antique American ship. a beautiful medium new red Germany metal mixing mixer