Mastering the Order of Adjectives in English

Have you ever come across a sentence that sounded just a little off, even though the grammar seemed correct? Like:

She wore a silk beautiful red dress.
Something doesn't sound quite right, does it?

That's because in English, when we use multiple adjectives to describe a noun, they need to follow a specific order. Mixing them up can make your sentence sound awkward or confusing—even if the words themselves are fine.

Let’s untangle this!

What Is the Order of Adjectives?

When more than one adjective is used before a noun, there's a standard order that native speakers follow intuitively. Here's the most widely accepted sequence:

Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Purpose + Noun

Think of it as a neat little formula to keep your sentence sounding smooth and natural.

Let’s Break It Down

Here’s what each category means:

1. Opinion – What you think or feel about something  beautiful, lovely, boring, delicious
   
   
2. Size – How big or small tiny, large, huge, small
   
   
3. Age – How old young, old, new, ancient
   
   
4. Shape – The form of something round, square, oval, long
   
   
5. Colour – Obvious! red, blue, golden, black
   
   
6. Origin – Where it's from Italian, Indian, African
   
   
7. Material – What it's made of  cotton, wooden, leather, silk
   
   
8. Purpose – What it is used for sleeping (as in sleeping bag), cooking (cooking pot)

Let’s apply the rule to build a sentence:

“A beautiful small old round red Italian leather jewellrey box.”

• Opinion:                beautiful
  
  
• Size:                      small
  
  
• Age:                      old
  
  
• Shape:                  round
  
  
• Colour:                  red
  
  
• Origin:                   Italian
  
  
• Material:                leather
  
  
• Purpose:               jewelry box
  
  

Sounds just right, doesn’t it?

A Few Notes to Keep in Mind

You don't always need to use all categories. Two or three adjectives are usually enough.

Don’t use commas unless the adjectives are from the same category.

She had a cute, friendly dog. (both are opinion adjectives) - Correct
She had a cute, small dog. (different categories - no comma needed) - Wrong