Adjective Order

Monday, March 25, 2013




Are those your favorite Italian leather shoes?
Lola's house is an imposing 17th-century French tudor.
Mattia was driving an amazing new red Mini Cooper.

What do these three sentences have in common? Answer: several adjectives.

When using many adjectives to describe a person, place, or thing, be aware that the adjectives must be in a particular order or sequence according to its type for your sentence to sound logical: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, and purpose.

1.Opinion - amazing, interesting, boring
2.Size - big, tiny, enormous
3.Age - modern, new, ancient
4.Shape - square, oval, round
5.Color - pink, green, gold
6.Origin - Greek, Indian, Italian
7.Material - wooden, silver, paper
8.Purpose - describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with “-ing”.
For example: reading glasses or a roasting pan


So let's return to our original three sentences and look at the their type:

Are those your favorite Italian leather shoes? (opinion - origin - material)
Lola's house is an imposing 17th-century French tudor. (size - age - origin)
Mattia was driving an amazing new red Mini Cooper. (opinion - age - color)

By keeping this logical order in mind, your sentences will also be clear and natural.


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