Order of Adjectives in English! Learn how to put adjectives in the correct order with simple rules, clear examples, and an ESL printable infographic.
Learning the order of adjectives in English can seem tricky, but it’s much easier once you know the basic pattern.
In general, adjectives follow OSASCOMP: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose.
This guide will help you place adjectives naturally and avoid common mistakes.
What Is the Order of Adjectives?
Adjective order refers to the typical sequence that adjectives follow before a noun.
Using the correct order makes your English sound more natural and clear—especially for ESL learners.
The common “Royal Order of Adjectives” is:
- Determiner (a, the, my, some)
- Quantity (two, several)
- Opinion (beautiful, boring)
- Size (small, large)
- Physical Quality (smooth, rough)
- Age (old, new)
- Shape (round, square)
- Color (red, blue)
- Origin (American, Chinese)
- Material (wooden, metal)
- Purpose (sleeping, cooking)
Example: a beautiful ancient house
Detailed Order of Adjectives
When you use multiple adjectives, follow this order to keep your sentences natural and easy to understand.
- Quantity / Number: one, two, several, many
- Opinion: beautiful, ugly, delicious
- Size: big, small, tall
- Age: new, old, young, ancient
- Physical Quality: smooth, rough, shiny, clean
- Shape: round, square, thin
- Color: red, blue, black
- Origin: American, Italian, Japanese
- Material: wooden, metal, cotton
- Purpose: sleeping (sleeping bag), cooking (cooking oil)
✅ a large rough rug (more natural than a rough large rug)
Order of Adjectives Chart
| Order | Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Determiner | a, an, the, my, your, his, her |
| 2 | Quantity | one, two, several, many, few |
| 3 | Opinion | beautiful, ugly, nice, horrible |
| 4 | Size | big, small, tall, short, enormous, tiny |
| 5 | Age | old, young, new, ancient, modern |
| 6 | Shape | round, square, flat, oval, long |
| 7 | Color | red, blue, green, black, white, yellow |
| 8 | Origin | American, Chinese, French, Italian, Indian |
| 9 | Material | wooden, plastic, metal, cotton, silk |
| 10 | Purpose | sleeping (sleeping bag), cooking (cooking oil) |
Adjective Order | Examples
- A big black dog (size/color)
- A beautiful old house (opinion/age)
- A tall thin man (size/shape)
- An expensive Italian sports car (opinion/origin/purpose)
- A small wooden table (size/material)
- A delicious homemade apple pie (opinion/purpose)
- A shiny new silver watch (opinion/age/material)
- An adorable little baby kitten (opinion/size/age)
- A modern minimalist apartment (opinion/style)
- A soft fluffy white pillow (quality/texture/color)
- A rusty old bicycle (condition/age)
- A spacious comfortable leather sofa (size/opinion/material)
- A beautiful delicate porcelain vase (opinion/quality/material)
- A traditional Japanese wooden house (opinion/origin/material)
- A pretty pink floral dress (opinion/color/type)
- A fast red sports car (quality/color/type)
- A stunning majestic mountain range (opinion/size)
- A smart intelligent young student (opinion/age)
- A crisp refreshing cold beer (opinion/quality/temperature)
- An intricate delicate gold necklace (opinion/quality/material)
Examples in Sentences
- She bought a beautiful small old round red Chinese wooden toy.
- He wore an old thin blue jacket on his morning walk.
- They have several new Chinese wooden chairs in their dining room.
- I found my small square metal box in the attic.
- We need a large rough American rug for the hallway.
- She has one ugly old red sofa that she wants to replace.
- He ordered a delicious hot Italian pizza for dinner.
- I saw the big new black car parked outside.
- They used a few beautiful antique silver spoons for the event.
- We stayed in a small modern French hotel near the beach.
Common Mistakes and Tips
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect order: Follow the standard order (opinion → size → age → shape → color → origin → material → purpose).
- Too many adjectives: Using too many can sound cluttered. Choose the most important 2–3.
- Illogical combinations: Avoid adjective pairs that don’t make sense (e.g., hot cold coffee).
- Commas: Use commas only for coordinate adjectives (e.g., a long, boring movie), not for normal adjective order (e.g., a beautiful old house).
Tips
- Read and listen to real English to notice adjective order naturally.
- Practice building phrases with 2–4 adjectives.
- When in doubt, simplify your sentence.
Practice Exercises
Here are some quick exercises to test your knowledge of adjective order.
#1. Which sentence has the correct order of adjectives?
a) The big, red, leather, Italian, designer purse.
b) The designer, red, big, leather, Italian purse.
c) The Italian, designer, big, red, leather purse.
d) The big red Italian leather designer purse.
#2. Choose the correct order for this sentence:
a) The tiny, old, wooden, beautiful, Japanese house.
b) The beautiful tiny old Japanese wooden house.
c) The Japanese, old, tiny, wooden, beautiful house.
d) The old, wooden, tiny, Japanese, beautiful house.
#3. Which sentence has the correct order of adjectives?
a) A delicious, hot, Mexican, beef, spicy taco.
b) A spicy, Mexican, hot, delicious, beef taco.
c) A hot, delicious, spicy, Mexican, beef taco.
d) A beef, Mexican, hot, spicy, delicious taco.
#4. Choose the correct order for this sentence:
a) The gorgeous, new, purple, silk, expensive dress.
b) The expensive, purple, new, gorgeous, silk dress.
c) The silk, expensive, purple, new, gorgeous dress.
d) The gorgeous expensive new purple silk dress.
Answers:
- d) The big red Italian leather designer purse.
- b) The beautiful tiny old Japanese wooden house.
- a) A delicious, hot, Mexican, beef, spicy taco.
- d) The gorgeous expensive new purple silk dress.
Related Resources
To continue improving your understanding of adjectives and sentence structure, you may find these related lessons helpful: