Adjectives are words that describe nouns (people, places, or things).
For example: a big house, a red apple, an old car.
Sometimes we use more than one adjective before a noun. But in English, adjectives need to be in a special order. If we put them in the wrong order, it sounds strange!
Don’t worry — it’s easy when you know the rules. Let’s learn together! 🎯
What is the Correct Order of Adjectives?
Here is the usual order:
- Opinion (what you think about something) → beautiful, ugly, nice, horrible
- Size → big, small, tall, short
- Age → old, young, new, ancient
- Shape → round, square, flat, thin
- Color → red, blue, green, yellow
- Origin (where it comes from) → Italian, American, Chinese
- Material (what it is made of) → wood, metal, plastic, cotton
- Purpose (what it is used for) → running (shoes), sleeping (bag)
After the adjectives, we put the noun (the person, place, or thing).
Example Sentences
- A beautiful big old Italian wooden table
(opinion + size + age + origin + material + noun) - An ugly small red plastic toy
(opinion + size + color + material + noun) - Some comfortable new running shoes
(opinion + age + purpose + noun)
Easy Trick to Remember
You don’t have to memorize the full list right now.
Tip: Remember that opinion words like beautiful and ugly usually come first, and material words like wooden or plastic come near the end.
Practice a little each day, and soon it will feel natural! 🌟
Quick Practice
Put the adjectives in the right order:
1. ____(small / black / cute) dog
ANSWER
👉 a cute small black dog
ANSER
- ____(small / black / cute) dog
👉 a cute small black dog - ____(round / old / wooden) table
👉 an old round wooden table - ____(French / big / delicious) cake
👉 a delicious big French cake
Final Tip
If you only have two adjectives, it’s okay to just think about what sounds best.
Native speakers sometimes change the order for style, but following the main rules will always be correct!
Want more English tips? 🎉
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