Adjectives: order

 

When we have more than one adjective before a noun, to sound naturally, these adjectives should go in a specific order.

1. Opinion adjectives are always put before fact adjectives.
2. The order of fact adjectives depends on the facts they describe.

 

The usual order of adjectives is presented below:

 

General opinion	→	Specific opinion	→	Size	→
Nice Funny		Intelligent Tasty		Large Small

 

Quality	→	Age	→	Shape	→
Clever Happy		Old Young		Round Square

 

Color	→	Origin	→	Material
Green White		African Polish		Paper Glass

 

• Recently I’ve been to a small German town (size → origin).
• Every fashion-monger should have a small black dress (size → color).
• That’s a lovely young grey kitten (opinion → age → color).
• I have a beautiful French wool sweater (opinion → origin → material).
• Tom is a nice, intelligent young man (general opinion → specific opinion → age).
• My grandmother has an old round wooden table in the country (age → shape → material).

 

There are some general rules to remember.

 

1. The most significant adjective should go immediately before the noun:

• He gave me an old grandfather clock.

2. We use ‘and’ where the adjectives are in the same category (or when talking about colors):

• Peter is tall and slim.
• Cool colors such as blue and green have a calming effect.

3. For contrast we use ‘but’:

• The house was charming but rundown.

4. With more than 2 adjectives use ‘and’ before the final one:

• Her dress was green, yellow and orange.

 

Note: In English you should not put more than three adjectives in a row before a noun.