The Secret Order of Adjectives
Describing someone as „an old funny lady“ just sounds weird, right? Native speakers instinctively know there’s a better way to say it.
Here’s why…
It’s because English has a hidden rule for the order of adjectives.
Try using this specific order when describing something:
- Determiner: a, an, the, this, those, my, your, our, their…)
- Quantity: one, eight, few, many…
_____________________________ - Opinion: pretty, ugly, boring, delicious, perfect, valuable… .
- Size: tiny, medium-sized, giant, large…
- Age: old, new, decades-old, brand-new, ancient…
- Shape: round, square, triangular, heart-shaped, circular…
- Colour: green, blue, pink, colourful…
- Origin: French, German, Chinese…
- Material: silver, wood, plastic, cardboard…
- Purpose (or qualifier): wedding, travel, shopping, cleaning, sports…
Remembering the acronym: OSASCOMP (Old Susi’s Apple Strudel Competition Offered Many Prizes) might be able to help you.
Let’s see how it works:
- Would you like three adorable grey kittens?
- We watched a thrilling old Japanese film.
- They have three nice teenage boys.
- He’s an attractive young German actor.
- She wore a dazzling emerald green silk dress.
Now it’s your turn. Can you describe something using the secret order?
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