In this ongoing series on English grammar, our focus remains on adjectives. Today, we'll explore their usage and understand the specific order in which they should be applied. Are you ready? -2 mins read
2/12 How to use adjectives
Form of Adjectives
Rules
1. Adjectives are invariable:
They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.
A hot potato
Some hot potatoes
2. To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use ‘very‘ or ‘really‘:
A very hot potato
Some really hot potatoes.
Position of adjectives
a) Usually in front of a noun: A beautiful girl.
b) After verbs like “to be”, “to seem” , “to look”, “to taste”:
Examples
- The girl is beautiful
- You look tired
- This meat tastes funny.
c) After the noun: in some fixed expressions:
Examples
- The Princess Royal
- The President elect
- a court martial
d) After the noun with the adjectives involved, present, concerned:
Examples
- I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who have something to do with the matter)
- Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting)
Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:
- An involved discussion = detailed, complex
- A concerned father = worried, anxious
- The present situation = current, happening now
3/12 The order of adjectives
Rules
Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective.
The usual order is:
Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material
Value/opinion
delicious, lovely, charming
Size
small, huge, tiny
Age/Temperature
old, hot, young
Shape
round, square, rectangular
Colour
red, blonde, black
Origin
Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
Material
plastic, wooden, silver
Examples:
- a lovely old red post-box
- some small round plastic tables
- some charming small silver ornaments
This text is already long enough: we’ll stop here. See you on the next post for an interesting Lesson about
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE OF ADJECTIVES.
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