GrammarTip19:OrderofAdjectives

Takealookatthesethreesentences.WhichoneismostlikelyinEnglish?
1.IhavejustboughtabeautifuloldhandpaintedJapaneseprint.
2.IhavejustboughtabeautifulJapaneseoldhandpaintedprint.
3.IhavejustboughtabeautifulJapanesehandpaintedoldprint.
Thewordsinredarealladjectivesanddescribetheprint.Butthe
orderofadjectivesdiffersineachsentence.
SentenceoneshowsthemostlikelyorderinEnglish.
Lookatthefollowingsentences.Noticetheorderinwhichtheadjectives(inred)are
placed:
ThefirstthreeCanadiancompetitorstocompletetheraceallbrokethenationalrecord.
ThetallyoungEnglishmanapproachedthebeautifulrichAmericanwoman.
Therewasasmallroundblackspotontheancientcarvedwoodenscreen.
Wehadlunchinacharmingold18thcenturySpanishrestaurant.
Ijustboughtanewredbicyclepump.
Adjectivesarefuntolearn,andit'salwaysgoodtohaveabigpersonalstoreofthem
availableforuse.Adjectivesmakeyourlanguagebothmorepreciseandmore
individual.Butwhatordershouldtheygoin?
Therulesforadjectiveorderarenotfixed(nosurprise!)asindividualchoicesare
alwayspossible;buttherearesomecombinationswhichalmostneveroccur.
OrderofAdjectives
Youmightfindthislistusefulindecidingtheorderofadjectives:
1.Ordinalnumber(first,second,last)
2.Cardinalnumber(one,two,three)
3.Generaljudgementorfirstimpression(good,beautiful,lovely,nice,new)
4.Generalmentaljudgementoropinion(charming,intelligent,fascinating,rich)
5.Measurement(tall,small,big)
6.Ageortemperature(old,young,ancient,hot,cold)
7.Shape(round,square)
8.Colour(red,green)
9.Verbparticipletodescribeastate(carved,boiling)
10.Material(wooden,plastic)
11.Originornationality(English,American,Spanish)
12.Nounusedasanadjective(bicycle,18thcentury)
Sointhefirstexampleabovethemostlikelyorderis:
Ihavejustboughtabeautiful(3)old(6)handpainted(9)Japanese(11)print.

Sometimes,ofcourse,theorderdependsonwhetheryouwishtoemphasiseaparticular
thing.Compare,forexample:
AbeautifultallEgyptianwomanenteredtheroom.
AtallbeautifulEgyptianwomanenteredtheroom.
Eachsentenceemphasisesadifferentgeneraljudgmentaboutthewomanthroughthe
orderofadjectives.However,thepositionof'Egyptian'doesnotchange.
Also,wemightchangetheordertomakeitclearthatwearetalkingaboutacertaintype
ofthing.Forexample,'aFrenchwhitewine'insteadof'awhiteFrenchwine'.
Testyourself
Puttheadjectivesinbracketsinthebestorderusingtheguidelinesabove.
1.Shehadadresson.(green,summer,bright,cotton)
2.Ienjoyfood.(Indian,spicy,hot)
3.Shelivesinahouse.(country,old,lovely,Englishstyle)
4.Haveyoudonethequestionsyet?(four,first)
5.He'sboughtacar.(new,sports,German,superb,yellow)
6.Thegameisplayedwithasetofballs.(metal,grooved,round,three)
Note:commasarenotneededinadjectivelistsunlessyouwishtoseparatetheitemsfor
emphasisorclarity,orwhentheycomeafterthenoun:
Shewasalittle,intelligentcat.
ThewalletIlostwasold,brownandleatherbound.
WORD ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
When more than one adjective is used in front of a noun, the usual
order is as follows:
qualitative adjective + colour adjective + classifying adjective.
a little white wooden house
rapid technological advance
a large circular pool of water
a necklace of blue Venetian beads
However, non-gradable adjectives indicating shape, such as "circular"
and "rectangular", often come in front of colour adjectives, even
though they are classifying adjectives:
the rectangular grey stones
the circular yellow patch on the lawn

ORDER OF QUALITATIVE ADJECTIVES

The order of qualitative adjectives is normally as follows:
opinions - size - quality - age - shape
We shall have a nice big garden with two apple trees.
It had a beautiful thick fur.
I saw big, shiny beetles.
He had long curly hair.
She put on her dirty old fur coat.
ORDER OF CLASSIFYING ADJECTIVES
If there is more than one classifying adjective in front of the noun,
the normal order is:
age - shape - nationality - material
a medieval French village.
a rectangular plastic box.
an Italian silk jacket.
Other types of classifying adjectives usually come after a nationality
adjective:
the Chinese artistic tradition.
the American political system.
In short, we usually put the more precise adjective nearest the noun
that follows it but it is not always easy to decide which is more
precise. Use the following colour-coded table as a guide for reference
on adjective order.
1; both, all, half
2; the
3; Ordinal number: first, last
4; Cardinal number: one, three
5; Opinions or general judgement: good, bad, nice, ugly
6; Size or measurement: big, tall, short
7; Physical characteristics: beautiful, slim, little
8; Mental characteristics: intelligent, stupid, smart
9; Age or temperature: old, young, hot
10; Shape: round, square, rectangular
11; Colour: red
12; Verb participle form: carved, boiling, drunk
13; Material: wooden, plastic, silk
14; Nationality or origin: French, Mediterranean, Southern
15; Nouns used as adjectives: steel, cigarette, village
You are not likely to want to use many of these adjectives together,
but here are some examples to show how this table works:
All the first three runners received a prize. (1,2,3,4)

The beautiful, intelligent girl fell in love with the nice tall young
man. (7,8/5,6,9)
There was a round red mark on the carved wooden cupboard.
(10,11/12,13)
He bought him a lovely Italian silk tie. (5,14,15)