the different types of adjectives"Order of Adjectives"

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun - for example, "He's a silly young fool," or "she's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type. This page will explain the different types of adjectives and the correct order for them.






Opinion An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). Examples:

silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult





Size A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is. Examples:

large, tiny, enormous, little





Age An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples:

ancient, new, young, old





Shape A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples:

square, round, flat, rectangular





Colour A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something. Examples:

blue, pink, reddish, grey





Origin An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples:

French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek





Material A material adjective describes what something is made from. Examples:

wooden, metal, cotton, paper





Purpose A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples:

sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin")