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fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M14.234 10.162L22.977 0h-2.072l-7.591 8.824L7.251 0H.258l9.168 13.343L.258 24H2.33l8.016-9.318L16.749 24h6.993zm-2.837 3.299l-.929-1.329L3.076 1.56h3.182l5.965 8.532l.929 1.329l7.754 11.09h-3.182z\"\u002F>",{"id":47,"title":48,"author":49,"body":50,"cefrLevel":646,"date":49,"description":647,"exercises":648,"extension":717,"faqs":718,"gcseTier":49,"intro":49,"language":731,"lastUpdated":49,"meta":732,"navigation":733,"path":734,"seo":735,"stem":736,"verbSlugs":49,"__hash__":737},"pages\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fadjective-order.md","Adjective order in English: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose",null,{"type":51,"value":52,"toc":636},"minimark",[53,70,73,78,81,208,211,254,265,269,280,291,325,329,340,351,375,392,396,399,471,490,494,497,571,575,578,607,613],[54,55,56,57,61,62,65,66,69],"p",{},"Here is a sentence you will never hear and can never forget: ",[58,59,60],"em",{},"a lovely little\nold rectangular green French silver whittling knife",". Eight adjectives, one\nnoun, and every English speaker on earth agrees on the order. Swap any two of\nthem - ",[58,63,64],{},"a little lovely old knife",", ",[58,67,68],{},"a French green knife"," - and the phrase\ndoes not become slightly worse. It becomes wrong, instantly, to every native\near in the room.",[54,71,72],{},"Now ask one of those native speakers what the rule is. They do not know.\nMost of them do not know there is a rule. They have been obeying it since they\nwere three years old, perfectly, without once being taught it, and they will\nlook at you as if you have asked them to explain how they grow hair. This page\ngives you the rule they never learned, and then the shortcut that matters more\nthan the rule.",[74,75,77],"h2",{"id":76},"the-order","The order",[54,79,80],{},"Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. Then the noun.",[82,83,84,100],"table",{},[85,86,87],"thead",{},[88,89,90,94,97],"tr",{},[91,92,93],"th",{},"Position",[91,95,96],{},"Category",[91,98,99],{},"Examples",[101,102,103,117,130,143,156,169,182,195],"tbody",{},[88,104,105,109,112],{},[106,107,108],"td",{},"1",[106,110,111],{},"opinion",[106,113,114],{},[58,115,116],{},"lovely, nice, terrible, strange",[88,118,119,122,125],{},[106,120,121],{},"2",[106,123,124],{},"size",[106,126,127],{},[58,128,129],{},"big, little, small, long",[88,131,132,135,138],{},[106,133,134],{},"3",[106,136,137],{},"age",[106,139,140],{},[58,141,142],{},"old, new, young, modern",[88,144,145,148,151],{},[106,146,147],{},"4",[106,149,150],{},"shape",[106,152,153],{},[58,154,155],{},"round, square, flat, thin",[88,157,158,161,164],{},[106,159,160],{},"5",[106,162,163],{},"colour",[106,165,166],{},[58,167,168],{},"green, black, pink, white",[88,170,171,174,177],{},[106,172,173],{},"6",[106,175,176],{},"origin",[106,178,179],{},[58,180,181],{},"French, Chinese, northern, Welsh",[88,183,184,187,190],{},[106,185,186],{},"7",[106,188,189],{},"material",[106,191,192],{},[58,193,194],{},"silver, wooden, glass, paper",[88,196,197,200,203],{},[106,198,199],{},"8",[106,201,202],{},"purpose",[106,204,205],{},[58,206,207],{},"sleeping (bag), coffee (cup), running (shoes)",[54,209,210],{},"Nobody uses all eight slots at once outside a grammar page. What matters is\nthat whichever adjectives you do use keep their relative order:",[212,213,214,226,236,245],"ul",{},[215,216,217,225],"li",{},[58,218,219,220,224],{},"a ",[221,222,223],"strong",{},"lovely old"," house"," (opinion before age)",[215,227,228,235],{},[58,229,230,231,234],{},"an ",[221,232,233],{},"old wooden"," door"," (age before material)",[215,237,238,244],{},[58,239,219,240,243],{},[221,241,242],{},"small round green"," box"," (size, shape, colour)",[215,246,247,253],{},[58,248,219,249,252],{},[221,250,251],{},"nice hot"," cup of tea"," (opinion first, always)",[54,255,256,257,260,261,264],{},"Determiners and numbers sit in front of the whole line: ",[58,258,259],{},"the three lovely\nlittle houses",", never ",[58,262,263],{},"lovely the three little houses",".",[74,266,268],{"id":267},"why-native-speakers-never-get-it-wrong-and-never-know-it","Why native speakers never get it wrong and never know it",[54,270,271,272,275,276,279],{},"The order is acquired, not taught. English-speaking children have it fixed\nbefore they start school, because they have heard tens of thousands of noun\nphrases and every single one followed the pattern. What they end up with is\nnot knowledge but reflex: ",[58,273,274],{},"green French knife"," sounds right, ",[58,277,278],{},"French green\nknife"," sounds broken, and the speaker could no more tell you why than they\ncould tell you why a wrong note sounds wrong.",[54,281,282,283,286,287,290],{},"This has a practical consequence for you as a learner. Native speakers are\nuseless as a source for this rule. They can tell you ",[58,284,285],{},"that"," your phrase sounds\nodd; they cannot tell you ",[58,288,289],{},"why",". The rule lives on pages like this one, and in\nyour own ear once you have read enough English for the reflex to form.",[54,292,293,294,297,298,301,302,305,306,309,310,65,313,316,317,320,321,324],{},"One aside, because it is the best-known \"exception\" and it is not really one.\nBy the adjective order, the wolf in the children's story should be the ",[58,295,296],{},"bad\nbig wolf",": ",[58,299,300],{},"bad"," is opinion, ",[58,303,304],{},"big"," is size, and opinion comes first. He is the\n",[58,307,308],{},"big bad wolf"," because English has an even older rule about vowel patterns -\nthe one that gives you ",[58,311,312],{},"tick-tock",[58,314,315],{},"zig-zag"," and ",[58,318,319],{},"ding-dong",", where the ",[58,322,323],{},"i","\nsound always comes first - and when the two rules fight, the sound rule wins.\nYou do not need to learn that one. You already know a language obeys rules\nits speakers have never heard of; this is just the second example.",[74,326,328],{"id":327},"commas-and-and","Commas and and",[54,330,331,332,335,336,339],{},"Adjectives from ",[221,333,334],{},"different"," slots take no comma, because their order is\nfixed: ",[58,337,338],{},"a lovely little old house",". You cannot reorder them, so nothing\nseparates them.",[54,341,342,343,346,347,350],{},"Adjectives from the ",[221,344,345],{},"same"," slot are equals: their order is free, and\nbecause it is free, they take a comma or ",[58,348,349],{},"and",":",[212,352,353,363,369],{},[215,354,355,358,359,362],{},[58,356,357],{},"a long, boring film"," (two opinions - ",[58,360,361],{},"a boring, long film"," works too)",[215,364,365,368],{},[58,366,367],{},"a black and white photograph"," (two colours)",[215,370,371,374],{},[58,372,373],{},"a cold, wet morning"," (two opinions about the weather, both fair)",[54,376,377,378,380,381,383,384,387,388,391],{},"The test is ",[58,379,349],{},". If ",[58,382,349],{}," fits naturally between the adjectives, they are\nequals and take a comma. ",[58,385,386],{},"A long and boring film"," - fine, so the comma is\nright. ",[58,389,390],{},"A lovely and little house"," - strange, so no comma. English is not\noften this tidy; enjoy it here.",[74,393,395],{"id":394},"the-shortcut-that-actually-matters","The shortcut that actually matters",[54,397,398],{},"You will never write eight adjectives in a row, and if you write four you\nshould stop and rewrite the sentence. Here is the whole rule as it applies to\nreal English:",[400,401,402,429,457],"ol",{},[215,403,404,407,408,65,411,414,415,65,418,421,422,425,426,264],{},[221,405,406],{},"Opinion first."," Whatever you think of the thing - ",[58,409,410],{},"lovely",[58,412,413],{},"terrible",",\n",[58,416,417],{},"strange",[58,419,420],{},"nice"," - goes at the front of the line. ",[58,423,424],{},"A lovely old car",",\nnever ",[58,427,428],{},"an old lovely car",[215,430,431,434,435,438,439,442,443,446,447,450,451,260,454,264],{},[221,432,433],{},"Purpose last."," An adjective that says what the thing is ",[58,436,437],{},"for"," -\n",[58,440,441],{},"sleeping"," bag, ",[58,444,445],{},"coffee"," cup, ",[58,448,449],{},"running"," shoes - is welded to its noun and\nnothing gets between them. ",[58,452,453],{},"A warm sleeping bag",[58,455,456],{},"a sleeping warm\nbag",[215,458,459,462,463,466,467,470],{},[221,460,461],{},"Never more than three."," Two adjectives is normal English. Three is the\nceiling. Past three, move the information after the noun: ",[58,464,465],{},"a little old\nknife from France with a silver handle"," reads like English; ",[58,468,469],{},"a little old\nFrench silver knife"," reads like an exercise.",[54,472,473,474,477,478,481,482,485,486,489],{},"Everything between opinion and purpose - size, age, shape, colour, origin,\nmaterial - follows a single drift: the more the adjective describes what you\n",[58,475,476],{},"think",", the earlier it comes; the more it describes what the thing\nphysically ",[58,479,480],{},"is",", the closer it sits to the noun. ",[58,483,484],{},"Lovely"," is entirely your\nopinion, so it goes first. ",[58,487,488],{},"Wooden"," is a plain fact about the object, so it\ngoes last-but-one. When in doubt, put the fact next to the noun and the\nfeeling at the front.",[74,491,493],{"id":492},"common-mistakes","Common mistakes",[54,495,496],{},"Ranked by how often learners actually make them.",[400,498,499,513,525,537,549,562],{},[215,500,501,504,505,508,509,512],{},[221,502,503],{},"Opinion after size."," ",[58,506,507],{},"A big lovely garden"," should be ",[58,510,511],{},"a lovely big\ngarden",". Your opinion goes first, whatever it is.",[215,514,515,504,518,508,521,524],{},[221,516,517],{},"Colour before age.",[58,519,520],{},"A black old coat",[58,522,523],{},"an old black coat",".\nAge beats colour, every time.",[215,526,527,504,530,508,533,536],{},[221,528,529],{},"Material before origin.",[58,531,532],{},"A wooden Chinese box",[58,534,535],{},"a Chinese\nwooden box",". Where it comes from goes before what it is made of.",[215,538,539,504,542,508,545,548],{},[221,540,541],{},"Breaking up a purpose adjective.",[58,543,544],{},"A sleeping warm bag",[58,546,547],{},"a\nwarm sleeping bag",". The purpose adjective and its noun are effectively one\nword; everything else stands in front of the pair.",[215,550,551,504,554,557,558,561],{},[221,552,553],{},"A comma between different categories.",[58,555,556],{},"A lovely, little house"," should\nbe ",[58,559,560],{},"a lovely little house",". Commas belong between equals only.",[215,563,564,504,567,570],{},[221,565,566],{},"Too many adjectives.",[58,568,569],{},"A beautiful big old round brown leather chair","\nis grammatically fine and stylistically dreadful. Pick the two that\nmatter and move the rest after the noun or cut them.",[74,572,574],{"id":573},"practice","Practice",[54,576,577],{},"Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct order. Answers are below.",[400,579,580,587,592,597,602],{},[215,581,219,582,586],{},[583,584,585],"code",{},"___"," table (wooden \u002F little \u002F lovely)",[215,588,230,589,591],{},[583,590,585],{}," coat (black \u002F old \u002F warm)",[215,593,219,594,596],{},[583,595,585],{}," bag (sleeping \u002F blue)",[215,598,219,599,601],{},[583,600,585],{}," film (boring \u002F long) - and does it need a comma?",[215,603,219,604,606],{},[583,605,585],{}," cup (coffee \u002F white \u002F small)",[54,608,609,612],{},[221,610,611],{},"Answers:"," 1. lovely little wooden 2. warm old black (opinion, age, colour)\n3. blue sleeping (purpose stays next to the noun) 4. long, boring - with a\ncomma, because both are from the same slot 5. small white coffee",[54,614,615,616,621,622,65,624,65,627,630,631,635],{},"Adjective order tells you where words go before the noun; when you want to\ncompare the things themselves, you need\n",[617,618,620],"a",{"href":619},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fcomparatives-and-superlatives","comparatives and superlatives",".\nAnd the little words in front of the whole line - ",[58,623,617],{},[58,625,626],{},"an",[58,628,629],{},"the"," - have\nrules of their own on the ",[617,632,634],{"href":633},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Farticles","articles"," page.",{"title":637,"searchDepth":638,"depth":638,"links":639},"",2,[640,641,642,643,644,645],{"id":76,"depth":638,"text":77},{"id":267,"depth":638,"text":268},{"id":327,"depth":638,"text":328},{"id":394,"depth":638,"text":395},{"id":492,"depth":638,"text":493},{"id":573,"depth":638,"text":574},"B1-B2","The fixed order of adjectives before an English noun, why a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife sounds right and every other order sounds wrong, and the practical shortcut: opinion first, purpose last, never more than three.",[649,669,697],{"type":650,"instructions":651,"options":652,"items":653},"which-one","Which category does each adjective belong to?",[111,124,137,150,163,176,189,202],[654,655,657,659,661,663,665,667],{"prompt":410,"answer":111},{"prompt":656,"answer":124},"little",{"prompt":658,"answer":137},"old",{"prompt":660,"answer":150},"square",{"prompt":662,"answer":163},"pink",{"prompt":664,"answer":176},"French",{"prompt":666,"answer":189},"paper",{"prompt":668,"answer":202},"running (as in running shoes)",{"type":670,"instructions":671,"items":672},"fill-blank","The adjectives in brackets are in alphabetical order. Write them in the correct order for the blank.",[673,676,679,682,685,688,691,694],{"prompt":674,"answer":675},"a ___ table (round \u002F small \u002F wooden)","small round wooden",{"prompt":677,"answer":678},"an ___ coat (black \u002F old)","old black",{"prompt":680,"answer":681},"a ___ garden (big \u002F lovely)","lovely big",{"prompt":683,"answer":684},"a ___ box (Chinese \u002F wooden)","Chinese wooden",{"prompt":686,"answer":687},"a ___ bag (blue \u002F sleeping \u002F small)","small blue sleeping",{"prompt":689,"answer":690},"a ___ knife (French \u002F green \u002F silver)","green French silver",{"prompt":692,"answer":693},"a ___ house (little \u002F nice)","nice little",{"prompt":695,"answer":696},"a ___ car (fast \u002F Italian \u002F red)","fast red Italian",{"type":698,"instructions":699,"pairs":700},"match","Match each wrong phrase to its correct order.",[701,703,706,709,711,714],{"left":702,"right":523},"a black old coat",{"left":704,"right":705},"a big lovely garden","a lovely big garden",{"left":707,"right":708},"a sleeping warm bag","a warm sleeping bag",{"left":68,"right":710},"a green French knife",{"left":712,"right":713},"a wooden Chinese box","a Chinese wooden box",{"left":715,"right":716},"a little nice house","a nice little house","md",[719,722,725,728],{"q":720,"a":721},"What is the order of adjectives in English?","Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose, then the noun. So a lovely (opinion) little (size) old (age) round (shape) green (colour) French (origin) wooden (material) coffee (purpose) table. Nobody uses all eight at once, but whichever two or three you do use keep their relative order: a lovely old table, an old wooden table, a lovely wooden coffee table.",{"q":723,"a":724},"Why do native speakers say little old lady and not old little lady?","Because size comes before age in the adjective order, and native speakers absorb that order as small children, long before anyone could explain it to them. They never learn it as a rule and most of them do not know it exists. They simply hear old little lady as wrong, the way you hear a wrong note in a song you know. That is also why asking a native speaker to explain the order is useless: they have the habit, not the rule.",{"q":726,"a":727},"Do I need a comma between two adjectives?","Only when they come from the same category. A long, boring film takes a comma because long and boring are both opinions and you could swap them or join them with and. A lovely little house takes no comma because lovely and little come from different slots in the order, the order is fixed, and fixed order means no comma. Quick test: if and sounds natural between them, use a comma; if it sounds strange, do not.",{"q":729,"a":730},"How many adjectives can you put before a noun in English?","Grammar allows a long line of them, which is how the famous lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife exists at all. Real English almost never goes past three, and two is normal. If you need more information than that, move it after the noun: a little old knife from France with a silver handle. Piling up four or five adjectives is a sign of a sentence that needs rewriting, not a bigger vocabulary.","english",{},true,"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fadjective-order",{"title":48,"description":647},"english\u002Fgrammar\u002Fadjective-order","kw8HKYNW_jW5XkCCzvpCNTlYEWY3OpPH-iJxLtexBSg",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":739},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":741},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]