Adjectives (+ order of adjectives)
A1 10 / 50
In short
Adjectives describe nouns (a big house, a happy child). In English they never change for number or gender, and they usually go before the noun or after be/seem/look.
The rule
An adjective gives information about a noun: what it is like, its size, colour, age, and so on.
1. Adjectives never change form. There is no plural and no gender ending.
| Right | Wrong |
|---|---|
| a big house | |
| big houses | |
| two red cars |
2. Two positions.
- Before a noun (attributive): a beautiful garden, an interesting book.
- After a linking verb (predicative) - be, seem, look, feel, get: The garden is beautiful. You look tired.
3. -ed vs -ing adjectives. This pair is easy to mix up.
- -ed = how a person feels: I am bored / tired / interested.
- -ing = the thing that causes the feeling: a boring film / tiring day / interesting book.
So: The film was boring, so I was bored. (The film causes it; I feel it.)
4. Order of adjectives. When you use several adjectives before a noun, English puts them in a fixed order:
Opinion - Size - Age - Shape - Colour - Origin - Material - Purpose - noun.
Example: a lovely little old round brown French wooden box.
You rarely use that many. Two or three is normal: a nice big garden, a small black bag.
Use a comma only between adjectives of the same type (two opinions): a cheap, ugly chair. No comma between different types: a big red ball (not a big, red ball).
Forms & patterns
| Pattern | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Before a noun | (a/an) + adjective + noun | a new phone |
| After be | subject + be + adjective | The phone is new. |
| After look/seem/feel | subject + linking verb + adjective | She looks happy. |
| Several adjectives | opinion - size - age - colour - material - noun | a nice small old silver ring |
| Feeling vs cause | person + -ed / thing + -ing | I’m excited. / an exciting game |
Examples
| English | Note |
|---|---|
| I live in a small flat. | Adjective before the noun. |
| These flowers are beautiful. | After be (predicative). |
| You look tired today. | Adjective after the linking verb look. |
| He has two black cats. | ”Black” stays the same - no plural. |
| It was a boring lesson. | -ing describes the lesson (the cause). |
| The children were bored at home. | -ed describes how they felt. |
| She bought a lovely little red dress. | Order: opinion - size - colour. |
| We need a big wooden table. | Order: size - material. |
Common mistakes
- two reds cars -> two red cars - adjectives never take a plural -s.
- The film was so bored. -> The film was so boring. - the film is the cause, so use -ing.
- I am very boring in class. -> I am very bored in class. - to say how you feel, use -ed.
- a red big ball -> a big red ball - size comes before colour.
- She speaks very good. -> She speaks very well. - a verb needs an adverb, not an adjective (see Lesson 11).
Tips
- Memory hook for order: OSASCOMP (Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose).
- -ed for the person who feels, -ing for the thing that makes you feel it.
- Quick test: most adjectives can go both before a noun and after be: a happy child / The child is happy.
- Don’t worry about long adjective strings - in real speech two adjectives are usually enough.