Introduction

We use adjectives to describe nouns. We often use more than one adjective.

Adjective after "be"

We can put the adjective after "be". We can use two adjectives with "and", and commas with three or more:

• The house is big.
• These houses are big and white.
• Those houses are big, old and white.

Adjective before the noun

We put the adjective before the noun:

• when the adjective describes the function of the noun
  • "swimming pool" (not "pool swimming")
• when we use the adjective without be:
  • "The man has short hair". (not "The man has hair short".)
  • "I bought the small computer". (not "I bought the computer small".)

More than one adjective

We usually put more than one adjective in a specific order. We don’t need to use commas if we use the adjectives before the noun:

• It is a big old white house. (not "It is a white big old house.")

Examples:

• "He has short brown hair." (not "He has brown short hair.")
• "She uses a small silver computer." (not "She uses a silver small computer.")
• "My hotel has a lovely big swimming pool." (not "My hotel has a big lovely pool swimming.")

Form - order of adjectives

When we use two or more adjectives, we generally use adjectives about the individual noun first and about the type of noun last, with opinions (suggesting good or bad) first and facts last.

This table shows a common order of adjectives:

  opinion > shape > age > colour > location > made from

individual noun >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> general type
1 - opinion	2 - shape or condition	3 - age	4 - colour	5 - location	6 - made from
stylish beautiful cheap expensive	long short round hot	young old new modern	black white gold dark	French European Italian African	wooden leather glass silk

Examples

• He wore an expensive leather coat.
    "expensive": an opinion about the individual coat
    "leather": a fact about the type of coat
   
• He wore an expensive black leather coat.
    "expensive": an opinion about the individual coat
    "black": a fact about the individual coat
    "leather": a fact about the type of coat
   
• They have beautiful wooden chairs.
   
• She has an expensive leather jacket.
   
• It was an old French film.
   
• My sister has expensive gold necklaces.
   

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Practice

Complete the sentences with the correct order of adjectives and noun from a, b or c:

• It's a ____.


hot beautiful day hot day beautiful beautiful hot day



• He has ____ table


a wooden expensive an expensive wooden wooden an expensive



• They sell ____.


beautiful Italian shoes shoes beautiful Italian Italian beautiful shoes



• My mother has ____.


long hair black black long hair long black hair

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Further practice

Complete the sentences by choosing the correct answer from a, b, c or d:

• The restaurant makes ____ food.


French modern delicious delicious French modern delicious modern French modern delicious French



• There is an ____ painting on the wall.


expensive European old old European expensive old expensive European expensive old European



• He was carrying a ____ suitcase.


big leather dark big dark leather dark big leather leather dark big



• She wore a ____ scarf.


long red silk silk long red red long silk long silk red



• They bought a ____ bowl.


beautiful glass coloured coloured beautiful glass beautiful coloured glass glass beautiful coloured 



• We hired the ____ car.


big German expensive expensive big German expensive German big German big expensive

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