Error #8: Wrong Order of Adjectives

ESL writers need to pay special attention to the order of adjectives. In English, when two or more adjectives (modifiers) appear before a noun, they should follow a certain order. Here is the usual order of adjectives in a series:

1. Article or other noun signal word (a, an, the, most)
2. Judgment (wonderful, unfair, useful, ugly)
3. Size (large, tiny, little)
4. Shape (round, long, bell-shaped)
5. Age (old, teenaged, modern)
6. Color (green, yellow, black)
7. Nationality (Vietnamese, Dominican, Russian)
8. Material (stone, wood, cotton)

Wrong adjective order: Correct: ����� I just bought a yellow new Mini Cooper. I just bought a new yellow Mini Cooper. Wrong adjective order: Correct: ����� Is that your silver Mexican favorite necklace? Is that your favorite Mexican silver necklace?

For more instruction and practice on adjectives, see Chapter 33, Adjectives and Adverbs, Evergreen, pages 435-449.

Interactive Quiz: Put the Adjectives in Order
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/adjorder.html