Speak Clear English - Enroll Today
Episode Forty-Three:
Adjective Word Order
In today’s lesson, we talk about why word order is important when you have more than one adjective in a sentence. Let’s start with a practice exercise. There are two way to listen along.
Watch this lesson…
Listen to the lesson…
In today’s lesson, we talk about why word order is important when you have more than one adjective in a sentence. Let’s start with a practice exercise.
Which of the following two sentences sounds more correct to you?
- Jennie wore her beautiful new cotton dress.
- Jennie wore her cotton new beautiful dress.
One of these sentences makes sense in English, and the other sentence is very confusing! Do you know which one was correct? It was the first one: Jennie wore her beautiful new cotton dress.
The two sentences use the exact same words, but are placed in a slightly different order. In fact, the only 3 words I changed around were the three adjectives: beautiful, new, and cotton. In theory, it shouldn’t matter which adjective goes first, but in reality, it matters a great deal.
Adjectives have a specific order that you need to use them. In today’s lesson, I’ll tell you all about the different types of adjectives, and the exact order you should use them.
Keep in mind that it’s rare to use more than 2 or 3 adjectives together, but if you do, you need to make sure you use them in the correct order, or it will be confusing to your listener.
Adjective Order
We can say ‘an old blue sweater’ but not ‘a blue old sweater’.
Adjectives must be used in a specific order. Here is the list of adjective types, and the order we usually follow.
- Opinion (ugly, comfortable, splendid, silly)
Opinion – With opinion adjectives, you are making a judgement or giving an opinion. You are giving your thoughts about the noun that you’re describing.
- Size (big, tiny, quart-sized, short)
Size – With size adjectives, you are describing how big or small something is.
- Age (new, old, ancient, 3-year-old)
Age – With age adjectives, you are telling how old or new something is.
- Shape (round, square, heart-shaped, straight)
Shape – With shape adjectives, you are discussing the form something takes, or how it looks.
- Color (blue, blonde, brownish, turquoise)
Color – With color adjectives, you are describing what shade or color the noun is.
- Origin (Italian, Chinese, Peruvian, Kuwaiti)
Origin – With origin adjectives, you are telling where the noun is from. This could be a country, region, or city of origin.
- Material (wool, plastic, silk, ceramic)
Material – With material adjectives, you are describing what the noun is made of.
- Purpose (sleeping, heating, sports, kitchen)
Purpose – With purpose adjectives, you are describing why the noun exists, or for what purpose the noun is made.
So how does this list work? When you have more than one adjective you put them in order based on this list. If you have a material adjective and an opinion adjective, you put the opinion adjective first, and then the origin adjective.
Let me give you an example:
Let’s say that you have a necklace, and you want to use the following three adjectives to describe it: gold, gorgeous, vintage. You would put them in this order: gorgeous (opinion) vintage (age) gold (material) necklace.
Here are a few additional examples:
Incorrect: She has blond long hair. (color, size)
Correct: She has long blond hair. (size, color)
Incorrect: My neighbor has a leather antique couch. (material, age)
Correct: My neighbor has an antique leather couch. (age, material)
Incorrect: The kitchen Japanese knife is sharp.
Correct: The Japanese kitchen knife is sharp.
Now it’s your turn. I’ll give you a sentence with adjectives in the parentheses. It’s your job to put them in the correct order.
- I bought a pair of (red, nice, rain, new) boots.
- Please put the coins into the (square, little, old, wooden) box.
- I was surprised to receive a (six-week-old, adorable, little) kitten for my birthday.
Answers
- I bought a pair of nice new red rain boots.
- Please put the coins into the little old square wooden box.
- I was surprised to receive an adorable little six-week-old kitten for my birthday.
To review, here is the order of adjectives:
- Opinion
- Size
- Age
- Shape
- Color
- Origin
- Material
- Purpose
Also featured in this episode was our new monthly supporter program. Monthly supporters get free audio books, 50% off all video courses, and even more fun bonus items! You can become a monthly member here.
Until next time, Happy learning!
Andrea
Speak Clear English - Enroll Today
The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
Great job! If you're ready to take your TOEFL preparation to the next level, go to StudyWithAndrea.com/TOEFL.
Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
Click on one of the following links to start speaking clearer English!
1) TOEFL MASTER CLASS
2) free mini-course "punctuation mistakes to avoid"
3) Clear English Pronunciation Video Course
4) English Vocabulary - Audio Files & PDF - TOEFL & IELTS
About Andrea
Andrea Giordano is the founder of StudyWithAndrea.com and has taught more than 1,000,000 students from 180 countries. Andrea holds a Master of Education (TESOL) from Shenandoah University, and is the former Executive Director of TESOL and ESL programs at Campbellsville University. Andrea is a proven leader in online English teaching and is driven by her passion to help you speak English clearly.
Previous Lessons
Audio Lessons
Trackbacks/Pingbacks