Adjectives Follow A Particular Order

Adjectives follow a particular order
1. Quantity/number
2. Quality
3. Size
4. Age
5. Shape
6. Colour
7. Origin
8. Purpose
* The order of adjectives in English is opinion, size, age, shape, colour,

origin, material, and purpose. For example:
A lovely, large, antique, round, black, Spanish, wooden, mixing

bowl
opinion (lovely)
size (large)
age (antique)
shape (round)
colour (black)
origin (Spanish)
material (wooden)
purpose (mixing)
 Opinion: pretty, horrible, lovelySize: huge, tiny, big, little

 Age: old, young, new
 Shape: round, square, triangular
 Colour: black, red, yellow
 Origin: British, Chinese, French
 Material: woollen, wooden, silk
 Purpose: writing (paper), school (shoes)
Orde
Relating to Examples
r
1 opinion unusual, lovely, beautiful
2 size big, small, tall
3 physical quality thin, rough, untidy
4 shape round, square, rectangular
5 age young, old, youthful
6 colour blue, red, pink
7 origin Dutch, Japanese, Turkish
8 material metal, wood, plastic
general-purpose, four-sided, U-
9 type
shaped
10 purpose cleaning, hammering, cooking

It was made of a 1 strange, 6 green, 8 metallic material.
It’s a 2 long, 4 narrow, 8 plastic brush.
Panettone is a 4 round, 7 Italian, 9 bread-like Christmas cake.
Here are some invented examples of longer adjective phrases. A noun

phrase which included all these types would be extremely rare.
She was a 1 beautiful, 2 tall, 3 thin, 5 young, 6 black-haired, 7
Scottish woman.
What an 1 amazing, 2 little, 5 old, 7 Chinese cup and saucer!
Stick to the Order
With two adjectives: : With three adjectives:
A lovely, mixing bowl A large, round, mixing

bowl
A black, wooden bowl A lovely, antique, Spanish, wooden bowl
A Spanish, lovely, wooden bowl (This is wrong because

opinion (lovely) should precede origin (Spanish).)
Order of adjectives – examples
*I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at the
end of the street.
*My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.
1. I love that beautiful old big green antique car that always parked at the end of
the street. [quality – age – size – color – proper adjective]
2. My sister has a big beautiful tan and white bulldog. [size – quality – color –
color]
3. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion – age – origin]
4. A big square blue box. [dimension – shape – color]
5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion – color – material]
6. Some slim new French trousers. [dimension – age – origin]
7. An amazing new American movie. [opinion – age – origin]
8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color – material]
Order of adjectives exercises

1. Choose the best answer for each sentence.
A. The house is __________________.

o large and white
o white and large
o large white
B. They live in a __________________ house.
o large and white
o white and large
o large white
Answers: A – large and white B – large white

2. Which sentence uses the correct order of adjectives?
A. We took a ride on a blue, old Chinese bus.

B. We took a ride on a Chinese, old, blue bus.
C. We took a ride on an old, blue Chinese bus.
Answer: C
A. I’d like three good reasons why you don’t like spinach.
B. I’d like a good three reasons why you don’t like spinach.
C. I’d like good reasons three why you don’t like spinach.
Answer: A
A. I like that really big red old antique tractor in the museum.
B. I like that really big old red antique tractor in the museum.
C. I like that old, red, really big antique tractor in the museum.
Answer: B
A. My brother rode a beautiful big black Friesian horse in the parade.

B. My brother rode a beautiful Friesian big black horse in the parade.
C. My brother rode a big, black, beautiful Friesian horse in the parade.
Answer: A
6. For each of the following sentences, choose the correct order of adjectives to fill in the
blank.
A. My grandmother lives in the ________________________ house on the corner

o little blue, green and white
o little blue and green and white
o little, blue, green, and white
B. The store carries an assortment of _____________________ objects.
o interesting new, old and antique
o new, old, interesting and antique
o interesting, old and new and antique
C. We went for a two-week cruise on a __________________________ ocean liner.
o incredible brand-new, huge Italian
o incredible, huge, brand-new Italian
o Italian incredible, brand-new, huge
Answers: A – little blue, green and white B – interesting new, old and antique C –
incredible, huge, brand-new Italian
blank.
A. I bought a pair of _________________ boots.

o new, nice, red rain
o nice new red rain
o red nice new rain
B. My dad was thrilled with his gift of ______________________ bowties for his
clown act.
o three squirting new nice big polka-dotted
o three polka-dotted nice new squirting
o three nice big new polka-dotted squirting
C. Please put the marbles into that ______________________ box.
o round little old red
o little old round red
o little old red round
Answers: A – nice new red rain B – three nice big new polka-dotted squirting C – little
old round red
blank:
A. I was surprised to receive a __________________ puppy for my birthday.

o little, cute, eight-week-old golden retriever
o cute eight-week-old little golden retriever
o cute little eight-week-old golden retriever
B. Our work uniform consists of black pants, black shoes, and a ________________
shirt.
o yellow baggy big polo
o big baggy yellow polo
o baggy yellow big polo
C. I’ve been spending a lot of time in antique shops looking for the perfect
_______________ clock.
o little silver Italian cuckoo
o little Italian silver cuckoo
o silver little Italian cuckoo
Answers: A – cute little eight-week-old golden retriever B – big baggy yellow polo C –
little silver Italian cuckoo
A. Our grandparents drive a motorhome with black and white stripes.

B. Our grandparents drive a motorhome with black with white stripes.
C. Our grandparents drive a motorhome with black, white stripes.
Answer: A
A. During my college years, I wore a red, white and black big hat to sporting events.
B. During my college years, I wore a big red, white and black hat to sporting events.
C. During my college years, I wore a big red white and black, hat to sporting events.
Answer: B

Adjectives Follow A Particular Order

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Adjectives follow a particular order

* The order of adjectives in English is opinion, size, age, shape, colour,

A lovely, large, antique, round, black, Spanish, wooden, mixing

 Opinion: pretty, horrible, lovelySize: huge, tiny, big, little

1 opinion unusual, lovely, beautiful

2 size big, small, tall

3 physical quality thin, rough, untidy

4 shape round, square, rectangular

5 age young, old, youthful

6 colour blue, red, pink

7 origin Dutch, Japanese, Turkish

8 material metal, wood, plastic

10 purpose cleaning, hammering, cooking

Here are some invented examples of longer adjective phrases. A noun

Stick to the Order

With two adjectives: : With three adjectives:

A lovely, mixing bowl A large, round, mixing

A Spanish, lovely, wooden bowl (This is wrong because

*My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.

Order of adjectives exercises

A. The house is __________________.

Answers: A – large and white B – large white

A. We took a ride on a blue, old Chinese bus.

A. My brother rode a beautiful big black Friesian horse in the parade.

A. My grandmother lives in the ________________________ house on the corner

A. I bought a pair of _________________ boots.

A. I was surprised to receive a __________________ puppy for my birthday.

A. Our grandparents drive a motorhome with black and white stripes.

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