Order of adjectives

1. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN HUMANAS Y TECNOLOGÍAS
ENGLISH MAJOR
GRAMMAR V
THEME:
Positions Adjectives
GROUP MEMBER:
Erika Arguello
Mario Salazar
Shirley Vásquez

2. ADJECTIVES POSITION
WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?
An adjective is a word that describes or clarifies a noun, by giving
some information about an object’s size, shape, age, color, origin or
material.
EXAMPLES:
 It’s a big table. (size)
 It’s a round table. (shape)
 It’s an old table. (age)
 It’s a brown table. (color)
 It’s an English table. (origin)
 It’s a wooden table. (material)
 It’s a lovely table. (opinion)
 It’s a broken table. (observation)
 It’s a coffee table. (purpose)

3. DET NUM OPINION SIZE AGE SHAPE COLOR
PROPER
ADJ
TYPE NOUN
A beautiful old Italian sport car
The three beautiful little gold plates
An amazing
heart-
shape
red and
white
sofa
ORDEROF ADJECTIVES

4. EXAMPLES
 I love that really old big green antique car that always parked
at the end of the street. [quality - age - size - color - proper
adjective]
 My sister has a big, beautiful, tan and white, bulldog. [size -
quality - color - color]
 A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion - age - origin]
 A big square blue box. [dimension - shape - color]
 A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion - color - material]
 Some slim new French trousers. [dimension - age - origin]
 A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion - age - origin]
 I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color - material]

5. 1) When two or more adjectives come before a noun, they are
usually separated by commas.
EXAMPLES:
A large, round table.
A short, fair, pretty girl.
Note that we do not put a comma after the last adjective in the
series.
SOMEADJECTIVES POSITIONSRULES
2) When the last two are adjectives of color, they are usually
separated by and.
EXAMPLES:
A black and white cow (NOT black white cow)
Red and blue socks

6. 3) When two or more adjectives come in the predicative position,
we use and between the last two.
EXAMPLES:
It was hot and sultry.
The boy was handsome, smart and polite.
The clouds looked white and fluffy.
4) Sometimes we put an adjective after the noun for the sake of
emphasis.
EXAMPLE:
There lived an old man strong and wicked.(More emphatic than ‘There lived
a strong and wicked old man.’)

7. 5) In phrases such as those given below, the adjective always
comes after the noun.
EXAMPLES:
 Time-immemorial
 Heir-apparent
 God Almighty
 President elect
6) In lines of poetry, too, the adjective is sometimes put after the
noun.
EXAMPLE:
 O men with sisters dear! (Instead of ‘O men with dear sisters’)

8. ACTIVITY
 PUT THE ADJECTIVES IN ORDER:
 1) my teacher old math smelly.
 2) new a perfect system.
 3) a big old brown bear.
My smelly old math teacher.
A perfect new system.
A big old brown bear.

9. 2) CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER:
 4) He was wearing a shirt.
dirty old flannel
flannel old dirty
old dirty flannel
5) I used to drive car.
a blue old German
an old German blue
an old blue German
dirty old flannel
an old blue German