Grammar › Nouns & Determiners › Order of Adjectives
Order of Adjectives
Adjectives before a noun follow a usual order. A common sequence is:
- opinion → size → age → shape → colour → origin → material → purpose → NOUN.
- Example: a beautiful small old round black Italian leather bag.
- Opinion first (lovely, nice); material/purpose last, next to the noun.
You rarely use all of these at once. With two or three, keep the same order: a big red car, an old wooden box.
The usual order
| Order | Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | opinion | lovely, nice, horrible |
| 2 | size | big, small, tall |
| 3 | age | old, new, young |
| 4 | shape | round, square, flat |
| 5 | colour | red, black, green |
| 6 | origin | Italian, French |
| 7 | material | wooden, leather, plastic |
| 8 | purpose | running (shoes), sports (bag) |
Put it together: a lovely big old round wooden table.
When and how to use it
1. Opinion before fact
- a beautiful (opinion) red (colour) dress — not a red beautiful dress.
2. Material and purpose next to the noun
- an old leather wallet; a plastic shopping bag.
3. Two or three is normal
- a big black dog; a new Italian car; a small round table.
⚠️ You almost never use all eight. With a few, just keep the order: a nice warm woollen jumper (opinion → temperature/quality → material).
Common mistakes
1. Colour before opinion. a red lovely dress → a lovely red dress.
2. Material before colour. a wooden brown box → a brown wooden box.
3. Size after colour. a black big car → a big black car.
✏️ Practice: Order of Adjectives
1. She wore a ___ dress.
2. They live in a ___ house.
3. He bought a ___ table.
4. I need a ___ bag.
5. What a ___ cat!
6. She drives an ___ car.
7. We sat at a ___ table.
8. Choose the correct version of: 'a red beautiful jumper'
9. Choose the correct version of: 'a plastic small box'
10. Which type of adjective usually comes FIRST?
11. Fill in the gap
I saw a ___ cat.
Put the words in the right order: black, lovely.
12. Correct the mistake
She wore a red lovely dress.
Type the whole corrected sentence.
13. Correct the mistake
He bought a wooden round table.
Type the whole corrected sentence.
Frequently asked questions
What is the order of adjectives in English?
Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose, then the noun: a nice big old brown leather chair.
Which adjective comes first?
Opinion adjectives (lovely, beautiful, horrible) usually come first, before fact adjectives like size and colour.
Which comes closest to the noun?
Material and purpose: a wooden spoon, a running shoe. These feel almost part of the noun.
Do I ever use commas between them?
Between adjectives of the same type (opinion) you can: a cold, wet, miserable day. Across different types (a big red bus) you don't.
👩🏫 For teachers
CEFR objectives for “Order of Adjectives”:
- Can order adjectives before a noun using the usual sequence (CEFR B1).
- Can place opinion adjectives before fact adjectives.
- Can put material/purpose adjectives next to the noun.
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