Adjectives usually appear before the noun or pronoun that they are modifying. When this is the case there is an order in which the different categories of adjective are placed in the sentence. This order is as follows:
- opinion
- size
- age
- shape
- colour
- origin
- material
- purpose
Below are some examples of this word order.
| opinion | size | age | shape | colour | origin | material | purpose | (noun) |
| magnificent | old | Arabian | ...statue | |||||
| long | bronze | ...sword | ||||||
| beautiful | antique | Egyptian | ...plate | |||||
| huge | silver | hunting | ...gun | |||||
| delicious | vintage | Spanish | ...wine | |||||
| stunning | tall | slim | Brazilian | ...model | ||||
| large | black | guard | ...dog |
If an adjective is modifying an indefinite pronoun such as somebody, someone, anything etc. the adjective follows the pronoun:
“He didn’t meet anyone interesting at the conference.”
Exercise: Put the adjectives in the correct order in the following sentences
- Anna bought a [ golden - small ] picture frame from the antique stall in the market.
- Mark saw a [ Italian - famous ] footballer when he visited Rome.
- Have you seen my [ brown -walking ] boots? I can't find them anywhere.
- I have ordered a [ large - Persian - red ] rug which will arrive next week.
You can post your answers in the comments below or email me directly. If you would like to know more about adjectives, have any questions regarding the English language or would like to arrange a free trial lesson, you can contact me here or send an email to lorraine@intrepidenglish.co.uk
Well done to everyone who correctly completed the exercises in the last blog.
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