English Adjective

Adjectives describe or modify nouns. Here are a few examples:

• green apple

• tall building

• three cats

Unlike some other languages, English adjectives do not change based on the gender or number of the noun they describe. For example:

• a red shirt

• red cars

• a young boy

• a young girl

Adjective Placement

• Adjectives usually come before the noun they describe. For example:

I like the blue car.

In this example, “blue” is the adjective describing the noun “car.”

• Sometimes, adjectives come after the verb, especially when using verbs like “to be” (am, is, are, was, were) or “to seem.” For example:

The car is blue.

In this example, “blue” describes the car and comes after the verb “is.”

Word Order with Adjectives

When you use more than one adjective to describe a noun, they usually follow a specific order:

• Opinion: lovely, interesting, boring

• Size: big, small, tall

• Age: old, young, new

• Shape: round, square, thin

• Color: blue, red, green

• Origin: American, Chinese, French

• Material: wooden, plastic, metal

• Purpose: sleeping (as in sleeping bag)

For example:

A big old house (size, age)

A beautiful wooden bowl (opinion, material)