ORDER OF

ADJECTIVES
Syntax
Word:

house
chair
woman
dog
Phrase:
a big house
a wooden chair
the old woman
wild dogs
Sentence:
Laura sent me flowers.
Sam went to a nursing school.
Clause:

I know a man who is very handsome.

We bought groceries that you need.
The man carried a bag which is heavy.
I
Noun Phrase
House house

A house

A big house

A big house

Modifier Modifier Head

Noun Phrase
Chair chair

A chair

A wooden chair

A wooden chair

Modifier Modifier Head

Noun Phrase
Woman woman

The woman

The old woman

The old woman

Modifier Modifier Head

Noun Phrase
Dogs dogs

Wild dogs

Wild dogs
Modifier Head
Modifying Nouns
Determiner: The determiner tells us if the noun is singular or plural, definite
or indefinite
a, an, the, my, your, four, those, some etc
Opinion: Explains what we think about something. This is usually our
opinion, attitude or observations. These adjectives almost always come
before all other adjectives.
beautiful, boring, stupid, delicious, useful, lovely, comfortable
Size: Tells us how big or small something is.
big, small, tall, huge, tiny
Shape / Weight / Length: Tells about the shape of something or how long or
short it is. It can also refer to the weight of someone or something.
round, square, circular, skinny, fat, heavy, straight, long, short,
Condition: Tells us the general condition or state of something
broken, cold, hot, wet, hungry, rich, easy, difficult, dirty
Age: Tells us how old someone or something is.
old, young, new, ancient, antique
Modifying Nouns
Colour: The colour or approximate colour of something.
green, white, blue, reddish, purple
Pattern: The pattern or design of something.
striped, spotted, checked, flowery
Origin: Tells us where something is from.
American, British, Italian, eastern, Australian, Chilean
Material: What is the thing made of or constructed of?
gold, wooden, silk, paper, synthetic, cotton, woollen
Purpose/Qualifier/Use: What is it for? These adjectives often
end in ing.
sleeping (bag), gardening (gloves), shopping (bag), wedding
(dress)
Noun: The person or thing that is being described
Examples of the order of adjectives
before a noun

A big fat dog.

An interesting old Indian rug.
A striped silk shirt
Some comfortable black sleeping bags
Four small round wooden tables
Those funny little old men
More Examples
It was made of a strange, green, metallic
material.
It is a long, narrow, plastic brush.
Panettone is a round, Italian, bread-like cake.
She was a beautiful, tall, thin, young, black-
haired, Scottish woman.
It is such an amazing, little, old, Chinese cup.
I met a nice handsome young man
We drove a big black American car
The boy was afraid of that horrible big fierce dog
 He invited that ___ lady to dinner.
young beautiful
beautiful young
These are ___ products.
excellent agricultural
agricultural excellent
Why can't you wear your ___ dress tonight?
pink silk
silk pink
The boy needs ___ balls for that activity
ten cotton small
ten small cotton
I've booked that ___ table on the corner.
big square
square big
Mary's husband gave her a ___ vase.
porcelain French
French porcelain
He broke Mother's ___ milk jug.
green old
old green
My brother wants to meet that ___ girl.
tall Japanese
Japanese tall
 What do you plan to do with these ___ bottles?
empty wine
wine empty
That ___ woman needs help.
old foreign
foreign old
There are two ___ dresses in her closet.
red beautiful
beautiful red
Tom never lets his sister drive his ___ car.
sports expensive
expensive sports
When traveling to Peru, make sure you visit the ___ ruins.
ancient Inca
Inca ancient
She sells ___ cookies.
delicious chocolate
chocolate delicious
The room was decorated with ___ balloons.
red big
big red
 1. He was wearing a ________ shirt.
dirty old flannel
flannel old dirty
old dirty flannel

2. Pass me the ________ cups.

plastic big blue
big blue plastic
big plastic blue

3. All the girls fell in love with the ________ teacher.

handsome new American
American new handsome
new handsome American

4. I used to drive ________ car.

a blue old German
an old German blue
an old blue German

5. He recently married a ________ woman.

young beautiful Greek
beautiful young Greek
beautiful Greek young
 6. This is a ________ movie.
new Italian wonderful
wonderful Italian new
wonderful new Italian

7. She is a ________ supermodel.

beautiful slim Brazilian
Brazilian beautiful slim
slim Brazilian beautiful

8. It's in the ________ container.

large blue metal
blue large metal
blue metal large
9. He sat behind a ________ desk.
big wooden brown
big brown wooden
wooden big brown

10. She gave him a ________ vase.

small Egyptian black
black Egyptian small
small black Egyptian
Thank You