Adjectives order:
When we use two or
more adjectives together to describe a noun, the order we put them in is quite
important. For example, we don't usually say an old Indian beautiful
carpet. It sounds much better say a beautiful old Indian carpet.
As a general rule,
adjectives are usually placed in this order:
opinion > size
> quality > age > shape > colour > participle forms > origin
> material type > purpose
The phrase a
beautiful old Indian carpet follows these guidelines:
1
|
4
|
8
|
||
quality
|
age
|
origin
|
noun
|
|
a
|
beautiful
|
old
|
Indian
|
carpet
|
You don't have to
include an example of every type of adjective, but the ones you do use should
follow the order. So if you wanted to add red and green to the
phrase a beautiful old Indian carpet, you would put it
between oldand Indian like this:
1
|
4
|
6
|
8
|
||
opinion
|
age
|
colour
|
origin
|
noun
|
|
a
|
beautiful
|
old
|
red
and green
|
Indian
|
carpet
|
It sometimes helps
to remember the order of adjective if you consider that adjectives whose
meaning is closely, or permanently, connected to the noun are placed nearer to
it in the sentence. So in this phrase: a large comfortable wooden
chair – wooden has a very close connection withchair.
2
|
3
|
10
|
||
size
|
quality
|
material
type
|
noun
|
|
a
|
large
|
comfortable
|
wooden
|
chair
|
Here are some more examples:
3
|
7
|
||
quality
|
participle
|
noun
|
|
a
|
new
|
improved
|
recipe
|
1
|
3
|
10
|
||
opinion
|
quality
|
type
|
noun
|
|
an
|
old-fashioned
|
romantic
|
candle-lit
|
dinner
for two
|
Sometimes we can
use but between adjectives, especially if their meanings seem contradictory.
2
|
3
|
|||
size
|
quality
|
noun
|
||
a
|
small
|
but
|
tasty
|
meal
|
If we use 2
adjectives that are similar in meaning, we usually put the shorter one
first: a soft, comfortable cushion.