Order of Adjectives

Order of Adjectives


When more than one adjective comes before a noun, the adjectives are normally in a particular order. Adjectives which describe opinions or attitudes (e.g. amazing) usually come first, before more neutral, factual ones (e.g. red):



The most usual sequence of adjectives is:


Order

Relating to

Examples

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

Color

blue, red, pink

7

Origin

Dutch, Japanese, Turkish

8

Material

metal, wood, plastic

9

Type

general-purpose, four-sided, U-shaped

10

Purpose

cleaning, hammering, cooking



Examples:


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Opinion

Size

Physical quality

Shape

Age

Color

Origin

Material

Type

Purpose


it was made of a strange green metallic material.

She was a beautiful tall thin young black-haired Scottish woman.

Panettone is a round Italian bread-like Christmas cake


Adjectives joined by and

When more than one adjective occurs after a verb such as be (a linking verb), the second last adjective is normally connected to the last adjective by and:



Home was always a warm, welcoming place. Now it is sad, dark and cold.
It was a blue and green cotton shirt.