There are quite a lot of adjectives in the English language, thanks to which they acquire shape, color and other properties. In other words, adjectives in English help create certain specificity by diluting the sentence with descriptions of objects and persons. But what if 5 adjectives are used in one sentence? In what order will you place them? Wait, don't start mixing up adjectives trying to find the best sound. As you may have already noticed, the English language is quite logical and structured. It is not surprising that even the order of adjectives in English is subject to certain rules, which will be discussed today.
The order of adjectives in English must be respected in order for the sentence to sound as grammatically correct as possible.
Often students turn a blind eye to this topic, believing that this order is not particularly important, because they will understand it anyway. To understand, they will truly understand, but if the obvious sequence is violated, the sentence will sound unnatural. Someone may take a more cunning route and avoid using several adjectives for one noun. The plan is certainly magnificent, but you won’t get far with such designs. Therefore, you just need to take these rules for granted and still study them. Try to understand the logic of their order, and not just memorize the presented list.
Let's start in order. Scaled adjectives can be divided into two groups:
- Fact adjectives or objective adjectives
- Opinion adjectives or subjective adjectives
The first group includes adjectives that give an objective assessment of the subject. Let's say we see a wooden chair. It's made of wood and that's a fact. If you go up to another person and ask about the material of this chair, he will also say that it is wooden.
Subjective adjectives express your opinion. That is, this chair, in your opinion, may be beautiful, however, another person may have the opposite opinion.
Which of these groups of adjectives is more important? Of course, this is a group of objective adjectives. Therefore, when using words from these groups, the objective adjective is located closer to the noun, and the subjective adjective comes before it. Study the diagram:
If you still have questions about the diagram, consider the following table examples:
It is worth noting that any adjective with which a description begins must necessarily have an article or a defining word in front of it.
Sequence of adjectives in English
Having prepared mentally, you can “dive” deeper into this topic. Let's say there are two adjectives and both of them belong to different groups. But what if there are two or more English adjectives of the same group in a sentence, which one should you put first? English grammar provided for this question, and therefore divided all adjectives into 9 categories to determine their location. Adjectives are used in the following order:
- Opinion/evaluation/impression, general qualities. In fact, all subjective adjectives can be included in this group, because they are used to evaluate a noun. This group also includes adjectives expressing price. Examples:
- Then there are the material properties:
- The next group is age:
- Form:
- Color:
- Origin:
- Purpose:
Where 9 is the adjective closest to the noun, and 1 is the farthest.
Nuances of the order of adjectives in English
Rules for following adjectives , however, they have a number of features:
- If a sentence uses a comparative or superlative adjective, it is placed before the rest:
- If adjectives are added to an English sentence that show measure (wide - in width, long - in length, high - in height, deep - in depth), they come after the noun:
- If instead of a noun in a sentence such pronouns as nothing (nothing), anything (nothing), something (something), anybody (someone) are used, then the adjectives will follow not before, but after them:
Order of adjectives in English: usage
In theory, all 9 categories can be used in one sentence. Be careful not to break your tongue:
As you can see, such sentences are very difficult not only to pronounce, but also to comprehend. It will be quite difficult to choose an adjective from each category, so on top of that, such sentences may simply sound illogical. If you are not overwhelmed by a storm of emotions, it is better to do without such vivid descriptions. For a standard English sentence, two or three adjectives are usually used. This amount is quite enough. However, there are some peculiarities here too:
- You may have noticed that there is not a single comma in the example above. This was done not to make it difficult for you to read, but because all these adjectives belong to different categories. According to the rules of English, if adjectives belong to different groups, there is no need to put a comma between them. Table with examples:
| There is a round wooden table in the kitchen. (There is a round wooden table in the kitchen.) |
“Round” refers to shape (listed as ordinal number 5) and “wooden” refers to material (order number 8 for this adjective group), so no comma is needed. |
| She tried a white cotton T-shirt on. (She tried on a white cotton T-shirt.) |
Adjectives are used according to the placement rules: “White” - color (6), “cotton” - material (8), a comma is not needed. |
| While I was waiting for you, I was talking to one intelligent young man. (While I was waiting for you, I was talking to a smart young man.) |
Intelligent – subjective assessment/impression of the speaker (1); Adjectives are not connected, so a comma is not required in this case. |
- If the adjectives used belong to the same group, then:
- If there are two adjectives in sentences, the conjunctions and (and) or or (or) are placed between them:
- If there are more adjectives, a comma is placed between the first ones, and the last two are separated by the same conjunctions and (and) or or (or):
| The child persuaded her mom to buy red, yellow and blue balloons. (The child convinced his mother to buy red, yellow and blue balloons.) |
There are 3 adjectives at once belonging to the “Color” category (6), so a comma is used after the first adjective and a conjunction between the second and third adjectives. |
| It doesn’t matter whether a cake is round, square or rectangular, it just should be tasty. (It doesn't matter if the cake is round, square or rectangular, it just has to be delicious.) |
“round”, “square” and “rectangular” are adjectives that define shape (5). Accordingly, a comma and a conjunction are needed. In this case, it is the conjunction or (or). |
| The Russian athletes won gold, silver and bronze medals. (Athletes from Russia won gold, silver and bronze medals.) |
The adjectives “golden”, “silver” and “bronze” belong to the same category (Material – 8), therefore the second adjective is preceded by a comma, and followed by the conjunction and (and). |
Exactly the same rules about the use of commas with homogeneous and heterogeneous adjectives exist in the Russian language, so there should be no problems with this point.
How to remember the order of adjectives in English
In theory, everything seems clear and simple, but when it comes to practice, you won’t constantly go to this page and double-check the arrangement of words before saying anything to the native speaker. Therefore, this order must be remembered. Do not forget that objective qualities should always be used after subjective ones, they are more important and should be closer to the noun in their location.
As for the objective adjectives themselves and their varieties, they are arranged in the list based on their importance. And if at first you are confused, subsequent sentences will be based on automatism. For practice, rewrite all the categories using a list or table. Study them carefully, and then cover them with something and put the adjectives in order from memory. Arrange numbers in groups when doing exercises on this topic. And, of course, reinforce the exercises with communication with native speakers, because not a single exercise will help you overcome the language barrier and learn English to an advanced level.
That's it. As you can see, the order of adjectives in an English sentence is already determined by a specific rule. Therefore, to use them competently, you just need to carefully study the topic.
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The order of adjectives in English is strictly regulated - it is used before a noun. But what if there is not one adjective, but several? In this case, its location depends on several factors.
How to remember types of adjectives
All adjectives are divided into:
- subjective , that is, they express the opinion of the speaker, for example, an unusual ring - an unusual ring;
- objective , that is, they are a real fact, for example, a young girl is a young girl.
If a sentence contains both types of adjectives, then the subjective adjective is placed first, and then the objective adjective. For example:
an unusual silver ring -an unusual silver ring;
an interesting historical movie – an interesting historical film.
Two or more
If there are not two, but more adjectives in a sentence, then their meaning comes to the rescue. Let's look at the sequence of adjectives in the table.
TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this
Points 4 and 5 can be swapped.
If adjectives belong to different categories, then between them no comma .
If adjectives belong to the same category, then between them a comma is added .
She is a selfish, nasty, irritable woman. – She is a selfish, unpleasant, irritable woman.
Adjectives in the comparative and superlative degrees are placed before all others.
Some of the best young American actresses took part in this film. – Several of the best young American actresses played in this film.
It was the most beautiful large stone cottage I have ever seen. “It was the most beautiful big stone cottage I’ve ever seen.”
If an adjective denotes height, depth, width or length, then it is used after the noun.
Burj Khalifa is 829 meters high. – Burj Khalifa is 829 meters long.
Baikal is 1,642 meters deep. – Baikal is 1642 meters deep.
The Pan-American Highway is 30,000 miles long. – The Pan-American Highway is 30,000 miles long.
The order of adjectives in English is one of the biggest difficulties students face. Luckily, this isn't that hard to fix.
Even a beginner will have no problem adding an adjective to the application. The problems start when these .
In English, adjectives are not placed randomly - any teacher will tell you this. But what exactly influences their order? The category to which the adjective belongs.
Adjectives are divided into those that indicate quantity, characteristic, size, temperature, age, shape, color, origin, material and purpose of an object or object. Sounds too complicated? Don't worry, we'll look at each category in more detail now.
Quantity.
The first are those adjectives that indicate the number of objects or items. These include both numbers (one ( one), quarter ( a quarter), one hundred ( a hundred), and adjectives like “a lot” ( many), "few" ( a few), "a couple of pieces" ( a couple of), etc.
If we are talking about a single noun, we can use the article a or an to indicate that we are talking about a single object: for example, a chair- armchair.
Characteristic.
These are those adjectives that help you understand how you or someone else perceives a subject or object. They usually reflect a subjective opinion: wonderful ( wonderful), unusual ( unusual), delicious ( tasty). Example: a wonderful chair- a wonderful chair.
Size.
They are followed by adjectives that indicate size: huge ( huge), tiny ( tiny), small ( small). Example: a wonderful little chair - a wonderful little chair.
However, there is an exception - this word big(big), which in English is often used before adjectives characterizing an object. The most common example is the big bad wolf(big bad wolf) from the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs".
Temperature.
The sentence then uses adjectives that indicate temperature: cold ( cold), cool ( cool), warm ( warm), hot ( hot), etc. Example: a wonderful little cold chair- a wonderful, small, cold chair.
Age.
Age is not just a number. This category includes adjectives that indicate the era or period of time when an object or object existed (or was created): new ( new), young ( young), ancient ( ancient), prehistoric ( prehistoric), etc. Example: a wonderful little cold antique chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient chair.
Form.
Adjectives that denote the shape of an object or object are “round” ( round), "square" ( square), etc. Example: a wonderful little cold antique square chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square chair.
Color.
Adjectives that describe color are "brown" ( brown), "silver" ( silver), "pink" ( pink), etc. Interestingly, they purely include those adjectives that indicate the color of hair or coat - for example, “blond” ( blonde). Example: a wonderful little cold antique square red chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square, red chair.
Origin.
These are those adjectives that indicate where a thing or object came from - for example, "American" ( American), "British" ( British), "Australian" ( Australian), "Danish" ( Dutch), etc. Example: a wonderful little cold antique square red American chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square, red, American chair.
Material.
Everything is simple here - such adjectives indicate the material from which the item or object is made: wooden ( wood), metal ( metal), paper ( paper), rubber ( rubber), etc. Example: a wonderful little cold antique square red American wood chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square, red, American, wooden chair.
Purpose.
And the last are adjectives that indicate the purpose of an object or object - that is, they make it clear what it is used for. A tennis ball is used for tennis, a teaspoon is used for tea, etc. Example: a wonderful little cold antique square red American wood rocking chair - a wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square, red, American, wooden rocking chair.
Of course, even in English there are exceptions to the rule. In addition, the order of adjectives can also be affected by the variety of English (British may differ from American and Australian, for example). But in general, adjectives in a sentence are arranged in this way.
Why are there no commas between adjectives?
When several adjectives from different categories are used in a sentence, they are considered homogeneous (cumulative) adjectives ( cumulative adjectives). There are no commas between such adjectives.
But if you use multiple adjectives from the same category, you will need to put commas between them, and the order of such adjectives will not matter.
For example:
The stupid, pointless, frustrating homework assignment! - This is a stupid, pointless, frustrating homework assignment!
All adjectives in this sentence indicate a characteristic of an object, so you need to put commas between them. They can also be arranged in a different order and this will not make the sentence sound bad.
How to choose adjectives?
The “wonderful, small, cold, ancient, square, red, American, wooden rocking chair” example used above probably seems strange to you. Fortunately, such sentences are not commonly used in English - which is why you will have to choose your adjectives very carefully.
Try to remember the categories of adjectives described above and their order. And when you use adjectives in speech, think about which ones you really need to use and which ones you can do without.
Take for example the following phrase:
A magnificent huge newly-opened blue water swimming pool - Stunning, huge, newly opened, blue water pool.
Not all adjectives are worth using here: everyone already knows that there is water in swimming pools and that they are blue. But the chairs from the example above are made not only from wood and come in different colors.
Remember that when using adjectives, your main task is to give the interlocutor information that he does not already possess. Therefore, avoid obvious characteristics and use those that will allow the interlocutor to recreate the most detailed image of the object or object.
It is best to choose two, three or four adjectives for this. Plus, it will be much easier for you to arrange them in a sentence.
We hope these rules were clear to you. To remember them better, try to practice as often as possible and pay attention to how native speakers use adjectives: this will make it easier for you to remember all the details.
In the article we will talk about adjectives - words that denote a characteristic and answer the question “which?” (yellow, interesting, tasty, etc.). Typically, English adjectives are placed before the subject, i.e.: yellow lemon, not "the lemon is yellow". Difficulties begin when there are too many adjectives.
In what order should they be placed? Let's figure it out.
1. Where to put the signs?
However, before we move on to the order of adjectives, let's look again at where they can actually be placed.
The most common pattern is adjective + noun:
The new shiny bicycle waited for me in the shop.
However, in literature, the noun + adjective scheme can be used to create an artistic effect:
The bicycle, new and shiny, waited for me in the shop.
The bicycle, new and shiny, was waiting for me in the store.
Finally, if the most important idea of the sentence is to convey the attribute of the subject, then you can use the noun + verb “to be” + adjective scheme:
The bicycle in the shop was new and shiny.
The bicycle in the store was new and shiny.
2. What other signs are there?
In addition to the cases already indicated (words answering the question “which one?”), the following words can be used as signs before nouns:
- Words denoting certainty
We are talking about articles (a/an - indefinite, the - definite), as well as words like “this”, “that” (this, that, these, those). - Words denoting belonging
That is, what answers the question “whose?” These are words like "my", "your", his, her (my, your, his, her), etc. And also words with “s”: John’s house, friend’s phone, etc. - Nouns (words that answer the question “who?”, “what?”) as signs.
There is a curious feature in the English language: if we say two objects (nouns) in a row, then the first of them plays the role of a sign!
For example:
train ticket
Train- train, ticket- ticket. It turns out to be a “train ticket” - that is, ticket on train.
flower pot
Flower- flower, pot- pot. All together - floral pot.
Such things are found everywhere: they allow you not to come up with a new word (like “floral” from “flower”), but to make the most of existing ones.
3. Adjective order
Now we come to the most important thing. In what order should we arrange all the words that we put in front of our noun?
1) Determination and belonging
Always go first
- or the article a/the,
- or words like “that” - “this” (this/that/these/those),
- or belonging (my, your, John's).
For example:
The new shiny bicycle waited for me in the shop.
A shiny new bike was waiting for me in the store.
This wonderful summer weather filled me with joy.
This The wonderful summer weather filled me with joy.
John's old blue car stayed in front of his house.
Jonova an old blue car stood in front of the house.
Note that all three points are mutually exclusive:
The my new shiny bicycle
Shiny new bike
This is the wonderful summer weather
This wonderful summer weather
The John's old blue car
John's old blue car
2) Quantity or serial number
If you want to indicate the quantity or serial number of an item, then this must be done after a/this/my etc.:
My two best friends are Jack and Linda.
My two best friends are Jack and Linda.
I like this second idea more.
I like it better this is the second one idea.
Sarah's many relatives came to her wedding.
Sarina has numerous relatives came to her wedding.
These two stunning photos are the best I"ve ever made.
These two amazing The photos are the best I've ever taken.
Many brilliant ideas appear unexpectedly.
Many brilliant ideas appear suddenly.
4) Objective signs of the subject
Now we come to the most important thing - those characteristics of an object that indicate its color, size, etc. - that is, they relate to physical characteristics that do not depend on our opinion.
The difficulty is that there can be a great many such characteristics, and here too there is an order:
- 4.1) size
- 4.2) shape
- 4.3) condition (what the item is at the moment: clean, dirty, wet, dry, soft, hard, etc.)
- 4.4) age
- 4.5) color
- 4.6) source (where the object comes from)
- 4.7) material
- 4.8) purpose (what the object is for)
I have a big round cooking pot for such dishes.
I have a large round cooking pot for such dishes.
(size-shape-purpose)
The garage had a rusty old green metal roof
The garage had a rusty old green metal roof.
(condition-age-color-material)
This fine big black Japanese refrigerator has worked well for 10 years.
This quality big black japanese The refrigerator worked well for ten years.
(rating-size-color-source)
5) Nouns as signs
Finally, if you decide to use a noun as one of the attributes (like train ticket), then these two objects cannot be “separated”! Nouns as attributes always stand close to the “main” noun:
I showed him my tattered white train ticket.
I showed him mine torn white ticket by train.
(state-color-noun as a feature)
She brought home an unusual square white ceramic flower pot.
She brought home unusual square white ceramic floral pot.
(assessment-shape-color-material-noun as a feature)
Of course, the entire list presented looks a little complicated :). But in reality, you don’t have to fill out every single item: we rarely add more than three or four attributes to one item at a time.
What else can help in mastering this scheme? Make up some examples and try to remember them! This way you can use them to navigate the points. Just try to make the examples logical for you, and not just a bunch of words: try, say, to describe some object from the house that you see every day.
Native speakers, as you understand, do not have any patterns in their heads - they simply intuitively understand how to arrange the signs, and if they hear them in the wrong order, it will sound strange to them. Use language more often: listen, watch, read, and then sooner or later you will also be able to rely on your own intuition.
Reinforcement task
Translate the sentences into English, arranging the signs in the correct order:
1. He sold his old large wooden cottage.
2. I love these great white soft Indian cotton throws.
3. Have you seen the small brown leather wallet?
4. I'm looking for a clear rectangular glass ashtray.
5. Where is my black old cleaning brush?
6. Throw away those ugly green old leather athletic shoes!
7. Do you like my adorable new blue diamond earrings?
Let's imagine this situation: You want to buy a new car. You, of course, can contact the salesperson at the dealership and say: “I’ve been dreaming of buying a car for a very long time and I know exactly which one I want. Sell it to me, please."
Of course, he will think that you are a little crazy and will ask you a completely reasonable question: “What does your dream car look like?” And then you either have to describe the car to the seller in every detail, or you will never receive it. Most likely, they will sell you the car that has been collecting dust in the dealership for 4 years, waiting for the sucker who will buy it. And believe me: this will not be the car of your dreams, but your absolute nightmare!
Luckily, you can describe your dream car in words. Words that describe something are adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns (nouns include people, places, events, and things). Using adjectives is the simplest, but no less effective way to enrich your writing. Take for example the following sentence:
I want to buy a car (I want to buy a car).
Could this proposal be considered interesting? Can it shed some light on what kind of car you want to buy? Answer: NO and NO! After all, your interlocutor has no idea what kind of car you started saving money for at the age of 11, depriving yourself of school lunches. Is it a huge SUV or a tiny subcompact? Fast or slow car? Red or blue? Used or new? It is impossible to understand all this from the first sentence. If you wrote like this in some essay, the examiner could easily accuse you of “poor writing skills” - a limited vocabulary and primitive phrase construction. Would you buy the book if it was written like this? Perhaps not. Unfortunately, many writers and students write this way. This is a very common problem that, fortunately, can be easily resolved.
So let's try again: what kind of car would you like? Well, mmm...
I want to buy a blue car. (I want to buy blue automobile).
I want to buy a new car (I want to buy new automobile).
I want to buy a European car. (I want to buy European automobile).
I want to buy a beautiful car. (I want to buy Beautiful automobile).
Did everyone find adjectives in these sentences? Yes, yes, the very words that describe the car: blue, new, European, beautiful. The problem is this: these 4 sentences imply that the author wants to buy 4 different cars. And if the author wanted to buy just 1 car, how would all these qualities fit into one sentence? So, you need to use all the adjectives in one sentence. As a result of simple manipulations we get...
I want to buy a blue, new, European, beautiful car. (I want to buy a blue, new, European, beautiful car).
So, how do you like it? Any problems? Yes, they have! In English, the ORDER of words in a sentence is extremely important. And native speakers are especially scrupulous about observing the order of adjectives.
In order not to get confused and guess where to put this or that adjective, remember once and for all the following sequence:
1. Evaluation + 2. Size + 3. Shape + 4. Condition + 5. Age + 6. Color + 7. Pattern + 8. Origin + 9. Material + 10. Purpose + NOUN
1. Evaluation opinion
good, bad, beautiful, lovely, ugly, smart, stupid, dumb, boring, delicious, useful' useful', comfortable 'convenient'
2. Size
big, small, tall, short, high, low, huge, tiny
3. Shape
round 'round', circular 'cylindrical', square 'square', straight 'straight'
4. Condition
broken, cracked, ripped, fresh, rotten, cold, hot, wet, dry, hungry, rich 'rich', poor 'poor', dirty 'dirty', clean 'clean', easy 'easy', difficult 'difficult'
5. Age
new ‘new’, antique ‘antique’, ancient ‘ancient’, young ‘young’, old ‘old’
6. Color
red, purple, pink, dark green, navy blue
7. Pattern
striped, spotted, checked, checkered, flowery
8. Origin
Korean, Chinese, French, Italian, American
9. Material
iron, brass, gold, silk, cotton, woollen, synthetic, wooden, paper, vegetable
10. Purpose
sleeping (bag) ‘sleeping (bag)’, gardening (gloves) ‘garden (gloves)’, shopping (bag) ‘shopping (bag)’, wedding (dress) ‘wedding (dress)’
Using the proposed scheme, you can put the adjectives in our example in the correct order. You will get the following sentence:
I want to buy a beautiful, new, blue, European car. (I want to buy a beautiful, new, blue, European car).
Remember: it is adjectives that help readers or listeners create a vivid image in their imagination.
Which, for example, of these two sentences is more expressive? Which of them creates a “picture” in the imagination?
I want to buy a car.
-or-
I want to buy a beautiful, new, blue, European car.
We think you have already presented and understood everything.
And finally, a small recommendation: articles, possessive and demonstrative pronouns are placed before the entire group of adjectives.
Test yourself:
Rewrite the sentences using the adjectives given in brackets. Pay special attention to the correct word order.
