28 Adjectives - Order in a Sentence
Adjectives
Adjectives are determiners that can be placed in two different positions within a sentence to modify or describe a person or a thing.
When we have more than one Adjective, we need to place them in a correct way.
Adjectives can be placed either before a noun or after a verb. If we have two or more Adjectives belonging to the same group we connect them with “and“. When these Adjectives belong to different groups, they should be placed in the following order (descending):
- Quantity;
- Value and opinion;
- Size;
- Shape;
- Age;
- Colour;
- Origin;
- Material.
- We bought two short red cotton party dresses last week.
- I bought a small black mouse for my computer.
- It was a beautiful warm summer.
We use Adjectives to modify or describe a person or a thing. When we have more than one Adjective and if they belong to different Adjective groups we place them in a certain order.
It is common to find sentences with more than one Adjective. When this is the case, we need to follow a strict order in which we write Adjectives, depending on the type of Adjective they belong to.
This order is as follows:
Quantity + value and opinion + size + shape + age + colour + origin + material (e.g. My dad bought a rectangular red wooden table.).
For example:
— “My dad bought a rectangular red wooden table.” = We put the adjectives in order while we are writing the sentence: quantity (a) + shape (rectangular) + colour (red) + material (wooden)
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.