ADJ placement

Adjective Placement

When using more than one adjective to describe a noun place the adjectives in the following order before the noun.

NOTE: We usually use no more than three adjectives preceding a noun.

1. Opinion
Example: an interesting book, a boring lecture
2. Dimension
Example: a big apple, a thin wallet
3. Age
Example: a new car, a modern building, an ancient ruin
4. Shape
Example: a square box, an oval mask, a round ball
5. Color
Example: a pink hat, a blue book, a black coat
6. Origin
Example: some Italian shoes, a Canadian town, an American car
7. Material
Example: a wooden box, a woolen sweater, a plastic toy

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. (dimension - shape - color)
·A disgusting pink plastic ornament. (opinion - color - material)
·Some slim new French trousers. (dimension - age - origin)