UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN HUMANAS Y TECNOLOGÍAS

CARRERA DE IDIOMAS – INGLES

GRAMMAR V

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

Names:

Darío Amancha

Patricio Castillo

Elvis Guaranga

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

The use of adjectives is essential when trying to describe a noun or pronoun.  Good writers and speakers are able to use adjectives to create clear, mental images for the reader or listener.  As you continue to work on your English, don’t be afraid to use multiple adjectives to describe something. Using more than three physically descriptive type adjectives in sequence to describe one noun or pronoun would sound a little awkward.   When using multiple adjectives in a sequence, you must be aware of the correct adjective order.  The proper order of adjectives is listed below along with some examples for each category.

Adjectives sometimes appear after the verb To Be

He is short. She is tall.

Adjectives sometimes appear before a noun.

Red car Old hat

IMPORTANT: The order of adjectives before a noun IS NOT FIXED.

Determiner Quantity Quality Size Ag Shape Color Proper Purpose Noun

or number

or opinion

e adjective or qualifier

A beautiful old Italian sports car

The three cute little gold plates

An amazing heart-shaped

red and white

sofa

Determiner: The determiner tells us if the noun is singular or plural, definite or indefinite

a, an, the, my, your, four, those, some etc.

And then we have the adjectives that refer to…

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

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, woolen

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

Here are some examples:

1. I love that really old big green antique car that always parked at the end of the street. [quality - age - size - color - proper adjective]

2. My sister has a big, beautiful, tan and white, bulldog. [size - quality - color - color]3. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion - age - origin]4. A big square blue box. [dimension - shape - color]5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion - color - material]6. Some slim new French trousers. [dimension - age - origin]7. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion - age - origin]8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color - material]

When there are two or more adjectives that are from the same group, the word and is placed between the two adjectives:

1. The house is green and red.

2. The library has old and new books.

When there are three or more adjectives from the same adjective group, place a comma between each of the coordinate adjectives:

1. We live in the big green, white and red house at the end of the street.

2. My friend lost a red, black and white watch.

A comma is not placed between an adjective and the noun.

Now choose the correct sentence:

1: Correct!

A green, ugly tie.

A green, tie ugly.

An ugly, green tie.

2: Correct!

An ugly, green tie

An interesting, old book.

An old, interesting book.

A book, interesting old.

3: Correct!

A wooden, big, white table.

A big, white, wooden table.

A white, big, wooden table.

4: Correct!

A bent, tiny, old, blue, Swiss pen.

A tiny, bent, old, blue, Swiss pen.

An old, blue, tiny, bent, Swiss pen.

5: Correct!

My middle-aged, tall, Italian, funny, husband.

My tall, funny, middle-aged, Italian husband.

My funny, tall, middle-aged, Italian husband.

Bibliography:

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/adjectives/order-of-adjectives/

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/pt-br/english-grammar/adjectives/order-adjectives

An interesting, old

A big, w hite, w oo

A tiny, bent, old, b

My funny, tall, mid

http://www.grammar.cl/english/adjectives-word-order.htm

By Thomas Williams, teacher at EC San Diego English school Noun and Adjective Endings

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/adjective-word-order