Handout 66

Problems With Adjectives: Adjective Order

            Why do we say “the small nipa house”, and not “the nipa small house”?  Or why do we say “the beautiful Filipina actress” and not “the Filipina beautiful actress”?  The reason is because there is a natural order when two or more adjectives are used in a row.  This order is fairly predictable in English, as it is in all languages.  However, adjective order in most Asian languages is different than that in English.

The order that adjectives occur in English has always been a problem for English learners.  Native speakers take this order for granted because they have heard and read these patterns so many times that they are automatic.  For the ESL learner, the following table may be of some help in trying to figure out adjective order.  While this formula holds true most of the time, there are many examples which are exceptions.  In about 90% of typical sentences, this formula will determine the proper adjective order.

Adjectives will usually occur in the following order:

1. Determiner/Pronoun/Limiter – a, an, the, that, several, some, many, six, my, their, our, she, her
2. Appearance/impression: a beautiful girl, a gorgeous picture, an ugly dog, an expensive coat, a delicious meal, the dilapidated house, an interesting speaker, a real treat, a perfect day, a different story, the original movie, a shinny coin
3. Size: expressing a measure based on volume or amount – a big man, a giant debt, a small country, a tiny plant, wealthy industrialist, a poor farmer
4. Shape: expressing a physical configuration – a short lady, a long rope, a square box, the round building
5. Age: expressing time relationships – an old car, the new president, the young girl, the ancient coin, the current philisophy, a contemporary tune.
6. Color: expresses color or shade – a red car, a blue sky a black face, a pale fruit, a bright day. 
7. When a shade is combined with a color, the shade comes first – a pale blue sky, a bright red car, the dingy gray smoke
8. Origin/Source: expresses where something came from – a Korean book, a Filipino movie, an American attitude, a Western concept, an African design
9. Composition: expresses what something is made or composed of _ a silver coin, a brass bed, a wooden post, a silk dress, a glass shelf, a diamond neckless
10. Qualifier/Limiter: expresses a certain kind or class of something – a hunting rifle, a digging bar, a baseball glove, a cardboard box, a leather seat, a display rack
11. Noun: the noun that is being modified by the adjectives

Note: These examples are for illustration purposes only.  In normal conversation or writing, you should never use more than three adjectives in a row.  In fact, the normal flow of your writing will be disrupted if you use too many adjectives, so the general rule is “two adjectives in a row is enough.

When to use a comma between adjectives

            It is usually easy to determine if you need to put a comma to separate strings of adjectives – simply observe the following rule.  If you can insert a conjunction like and or but, then use a comma.  There are many exceptions, but it will hold true about eighty percent of the time.  However, never put a comma between an adjective and the noun.

·        The beautiful, tall, old Filipino lady = The beautiful and old and tall Filipino lady.

·        Several abandoned nipa farm houses = in this case, and or but does not fit well between any of the adjectives, so no commas.

·        The ragged, square, brown, cardboard shipping box = The ragged and square and brown and cardboard shipping box.

·        Six exciting, new, American Disco tunes = Six exciting and new and American disco tunes.

These examples are a little harder to follow because of the number of adjectives in the example.  When you limit your adjective strings to two adjectives, as you would in normal writing, it becomes quite simple.

REMEMBER: These are general rules.  There are always exceptions.  As you become more proficient in English, these concepts will become automatic.  One of the best ways to learn English grammar usage is through recreational reading where you see the proper form presented repeatedly in different sentences and contexts. 

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