English — Order of adjectives
When several adjectives describe one noun, English puts them in a fixed order: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose — then the noun, as in a lovely small old round brown wooden table.
How it works
Follow the sequence opinion–size–age–shape–colour–origin–material–purpose before the noun. You rarely use all eight at once, but any that appear keep this order: a big old wooden box, a nice red Italian car, small round plastic buttons.
The slots in order
| Category | Adjective |
|---|---|
| 1. Opinion | lovely |
| 2. Size | small |
| 3. Age | old |
| 4. Shape | round |
| 5. Colour | brown |
| 6. Origin | — (e.g. French) |
| 7. Material | wooden |
| 8. Purpose + noun | (dining) table |
Good to know
Coordinate adjectives, which describe the noun independently, are joined with and or separated by commas (a black and white photo, a cold, wet day). Cumulative adjectives normally have neither: a big old house. Adjectives can nevertheless be deliberately coordinated for emphasis, as in a big and old house. When a string feels heavy, learners often split it with a relative clause instead.