Adjective Order

Two adjectives

We often have two adjectives in front of a noun

➧ a handsome young man
➧ a big black car
➧ that horrible big dog


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

good
bad
lovely
strange
nice
beautiful
brilliant
excellent
awful
important
wonderful
nasty

➧ He's a brilliant teacher.
➧ That's a wonderful book.


Some adjectives give a specific opinion. We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds of noun, for example

Food
delicious
tasty

Furniture|Buildings
comfortable
uncomfortable

People|Animals
clever
friendly



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

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


We usually put an opinion adjective in front of a descriptive adjective

➧ A nice red dress.
➧ A silly old man.
➧ Those horrible yellow curtains.


Adjectives after link verbs

We use some adjectives only after a link verb

afraid
alive
alone
asleep
content
glad
ill
ready
sorry
sure
unable
unwell


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

annoyed
bored
finished
pleased
thrilled


➧ Our teacher was ill. ✓
➧ We had an ill teacher. ✗

➧ My uncle was very glad when he heard the news. ✓
➧ When he heard the news he was a very glad uncle. ✗

➧ The policeman seemed to be very annoyed. ✓
➧ He seemed to be a very annoyed policeman. ✗


Three or more adjectives

Sometimes we have three adjectives in front of a noun, but this is unusual

➧ A nice handsome young man.
➧ A big black American car.
➧ That horrible big fierce dog.

It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives.


Adjectives usually come in this order
  1. General opinion
  2. Specific opinion
  3. Size
  4. Shape
  5. Age
  6. Colour
  7. Nationality
  8. Material


Adjectives in front of nouns

A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun

north
south
east
west
northern
southern
eastern
western
countless
occasional
lone
mere
indoor
outdoor
-


➧ He lives in the eastern district. ✓
➧ The district he lives in is eastern. ✗

➧ There were countless problems with the new machinery. ✓
➧ The problems with the new machinery were countless. ✗
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