English Adjectives,
Determiners and
Order of Adjectives in a Sentence
Examples:
Big, pretty, expensive, green, round, French, loud, quick, fat.
Example sentences:
- He has big blue eyes.
- The new car broke down.
- The old lady was talking in a quiet voice.
The word "adjective" comes from the Latin word jacere, which means "to throw."
Different Types of adjectives
Adjectives can be divided into several types:Opinion
Nice, pretty, stupid, original, expensive, etc.
A sweet
girl
Size
Big, small, large, tiny, enormous, little, etc.
An enormous
cupcake
Age
Young, old, new, ancient, antique, etc.
An antique car
Shape
Round, square, flat, straight, etc.
A round
coin
Color
Blue, red, white, black, dark, bright, yellowish, etc.
A red apple
Origin
Italian, British, Mexican, western, southern, etc.
An Italian pizza
Material
Metal, wooden, plastic, golden, etc.
A wooden
house
Determiners
A determiner is a word that comes before a noun to show which person or thing you are talking about.Examples:
A, an, the, my, your, some, any, several, enough, any.
Example sentences:
- I have a red hat.
- Please give me my bag.
- Some people decided to leave.
- She doesn't want any money.
- They watched several movies.
Incorrect: He has the my ticket.
Correct: He has my ticket / He has the ticket.
Click here to read more about English Determiners.
Nouns that act like adjectives
Sometimes nouns function as adjectives. In other words, they come before another noun and describe it.Examples:
- Sports car
- Orange juice
- Television station
- Coffee shop
- Book cover
The order of adjectives
A noun can have several adjectives describing it. Examples:
"She bought a new red Italian table."
"He is a great, successful father."
There are certain rules on the correct order of these adjectives.
This is the order you should generally follow:
Determiner -> opinion -> size -> age -> shape -> color
-> origin -> material -> a word describing purpose/function
Examples:
- A
nice
little
coffee
shop
(Determiner -> opinion -> size -> purpose/function word)
- My
huge
new
swimming
pool
(Determiner -> size -> age -> purpose/function word)
- Several
Chinese
plastic
cups
(Determiner -> origin -> material)
- The
round
yellow
ball
(Determiner -> shape -> color)
Adjectives from the same type:
When you have several adjectives from the same type, you should separate them with commas or a conjunction (and, but).
Examples:
A cheap, good meal
A happy, smart man
The beautiful, original painting
My nice and sweet cat
An expensive but important trip
Comparative adjectives
"Comparative" means "comparing something to something else."Comparative adjective show which thing is better, worse, stronger, weaker, and so forth.
Examples:
Better, worse, bigger, smaller, nicer, fatter, thinner, more dangerous.
Example sentences:
- She is a better student than her brothers.
- The test was worse than I'd expected.
- You are stronger than me.
- He seems healthier.
- You are more beautiful than her.
Superlative adjectives
"Superlative" means "of the highest degree."Superlative adjectives show us which thing is the best, the strongest, and so forth.
Examples:
Best, worst, strongest, smallest, cheapest, most expensive.
Example sentences:
- You are my best friend.
- This is the worst day of my life.
- Even the smallest donation helps.
- This is the most expensive restaurant I've ever heard of.
Read also:
Comparatives and Superlatives
Possessive Adjectives, Showing Ownership
Illustrated Worksheet on Adjectives
Return from English Adjectives to English Parts of Speech
Return from English Adjectives to Learn to Write in English
