The document provides information about adjective order when describing nouns. It lists different types of adjectives (opinion, size, age, etc.) and the typical order they are placed before nouns. Examples are given of adjectives correctly ordered before nouns based on the adjective types. Readers are then given practice ordering sets of mixed up adjectives correctly before nouns. The document emphasizes that adjectives are usually not separated by commas when listing multiple adjectives before a noun.

2. Find one word to describe each
shirt:
check plain spotted striped

3. Find two words to describe each
person:
medium-height overweight short slim
tall well-built

4. Find two words to describe each person’s
hair:
blonde brown curly ginger
straight wavy

5. Adjective Order
Look at Wayne. We can say he
has short brown hair and
he’s wearing a new, striped,
football shirt. We don’t say
he has brown short hair and
he’s wearing a football,
striped, new shirt.
Why?

6. brown, short, new, football, and striped are
adjectives here.
They tell us something about his hair and his
shirt. But when we have more than one adjective
before a noun, they usually come in a fixed
order. If we take one adjective of each type, they
would normally follow the following order.

7. Opinion
An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other
people may not agree with you).
For example: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult
Size
A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.
For example: large, tiny, enormous, little
Age
An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is.
For example: ancient, new, young, old
Shape
A shape adjective describes the shape of something.
For example: square, round, flat, rectangular
Colour
A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something.
For example: blue, pink, reddish, grey
Origin
An origin adjective describes where something comes from.
For example: French, American, eastern, Greek
Material
A material adjective describes what something is made from.
For example: wooden, metal, cotton, paper
Pattern
A pattern adjective describes decoration or ornament having such a design.
For example: stripe, plain, dotted, spotted
Purpose
A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives
often end with “-ing”.
For example: sleeping (as in “sleeping bag”), roasting (as in “roasting tin”)

8. • Here are some examples of nouns
modified with three adjectives in the
correct order based on the list above.
Notice that the adjectives are not
separated by commas.
• A wonderful old Italian clock. (opinion -
age - origin)
• A big square blue box. (size - shape -
colour)
• A disgusting pink plastic ornament.
(opinion - colour - material)
• Some slim new French trousers. (size -
age - origin)

9. Now look at the adjectives below.
Three of them go with each picture on the
following slide.
blue brown check coffee
green kitchen modern new
office red small
sports striped tall
work

10. 1. A _ _ _ car. 4. A _ _ _ building.
2. A _ _ _ cup. 5. A _ _ _ cloth.
3. A _ _ _ shirt.

11. Order of adjectives.
• The words in each phrase below have been mixed up.
Rewrite them in the correct order.
1. small pot a flower brown
2. and towel white a bath check red
3. book blue grammar a thin
4. white bag large a carrier
5. big engine a fire red
6. table old dining long a/an
7. tie a and school blue striped white
8. train a passenger grey modern
9. motorcycle helmet and striped black a red
10. enormous stadium football white a/an

12. 1. He wears a ________ shirt.
a. dirty old flannel
b. flannel old dirty
c. old dirty flannel
2. Pass me the ________ cups.
a. plastic big blue
b. big blue plastic
c. big plastic blue
3. All the girls fall in love with the ________ teacher.
a. handsome new American
b. American new handsome
c. new handsome American
4. I drive ________ car.
a. a blue old German
b. an old German blue
c. an old blue German
5. He recently married a ________ woman.
a. young beautiful Greek
b. beautiful young Greek
c. beautiful Greek young

13. 6. This is a ________ movie.
a. new Italian wonderful
b. wonderful Italian new
c. wonderful new Italian
7. She is a ________ supermodel.
a. beautiful slim Brazilian
b. Brazilian beautiful slim
c. slim Brazilian beautiful
8. It's in the ________ container.
a. large blue metal
b. blue large metal
c. blue metal large
9. He sits behind a ________ desk.
a. big wooden brown
b. big brown wooden
c. wooden big brown
10. She gives him a ________ vase.
a. small Egyptian black
b. black Egyptian small
c. small black Egyptian

14. Congratulation!

15. You are wrong!
Go back and read
again!

16. Activity
• Identify 5 of your favourite actors,
actresses, singers, athletes, etc.
based on his/her appearances
• Present it in front of the class
• Example,
De Gea is my favourite athlete.
He is a handsome tall young
Spanish goalkeeper.