What is the correct order of adjectives in English?

Opinion, size, physical quality, shape, age, colour, origin, material, type, purpose. For example: a lovely little old round brown Italian wooden dining table. In real speech you would rarely use more than three adjectives at once.

What is the difference between 'bored' and 'boring'?

'Boring' describes the thing that causes the feeling, and 'bored' describes the person who feels it. A film can be boring, and you are bored by it. The same pattern applies to tiring and tired, interesting and interested, confusing and confused.

When do I use 'more' instead of -er?

Use -er with one-syllable adjectives and with two-syllable adjectives ending in -y: colder, happier. Use 'more' with longer adjectives: more expensive, more comfortable. Never use both together.

Do adjectives change in the plural in English?

No. Unlike Spanish, French or Italian, English adjectives have one form only. One green apple, ten green apples.

What level are adjectives taught at?

Basic adjectives and comparatives are covered at A1 and A2. Adjective order, -ed and -ing forms, and adjective plus preposition patterns are usually developed from B1 upwards, which is where most of our adult classes work.

Free grammar guide

Adjectives in English

Adjectives describe. They tell us that the coffee is hot, the flat is small and the film was boring. The words themselves are easy; what trips students up is the order they go in, and the difference between 'bored' and 'boring'. This guide covers both.

Level: A1 to C17 minute readFree to use

What an adjective does

An adjective gives information about a noun: what it looks like, how big it is, where it comes from, how you feel about it.

In English an adjective usually sits directly in front of the noun, or after the verb 'be' and similar verbs such as seem, look, feel and become. Unlike many languages, an English adjective never changes for number or gender: one red door, five red doors.

She lives in a small flat.

Before the noun.

The sea looks cold today.

After a linking verb.

Two tall buildings.

No plural -s on the adjective. Never 'talls'.

The order of adjectives

When you use more than one adjective before a noun, English puts them in a fixed order. Native speakers never learn this rule, but they all follow it — which is why 'a green big car' sounds wrong even though every word is correct.

The order is: opinion, size, physical quality, shape, age, colour, origin, material, type, purpose.

In practice you rarely use more than three at once. If you need more, break the sentence up rather than building a long chain.

Opinion first: a lovely old house, not an old lovely house.
Size before colour: a big blue bag, not a blue big bag.
Age before colour, colour before origin: a charming little old brown Italian leather bag.
Material and purpose sit closest to the noun: a wooden dining table.

A beautiful long white dress.

Opinion, size, colour.

An expensive new German car.

Opinion, age, origin.

-ed or -ing: bored or boring?

This is the single most common adjective mistake we hear in class, at every level.

An -ing adjective describes the thing that causes the feeling. An -ed adjective describes the person who has the feeling. So a lesson can be boring, and you can be bored by it — but if you say 'I am boring', you have told the room you are a dull person.

The journey was tiring, so I was tired.

Cause, then feeling.

I am interested in history because history is interesting.

Both forms in one sentence.

She was confused by the confusing timetable.

The timetable causes it; she feels it.

Comparatives and superlatives

To compare two things, use the comparative; to say one is top of the group, use the superlative.

Short adjectives take -er and -est: cold, colder, the coldest. One-syllable adjectives ending in a single vowel plus a consonant double it: big, bigger, the biggest. Adjectives ending in -y change to -ier and -iest: happy, happier, the happiest.

Longer adjectives use more and the most: expensive, more expensive, the most expensive. A few are irregular and simply have to be learnt: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, far/further/furthest.

Brighton is warmer than Manchester.

Comparative + than.

This is the most useful book I own.

Superlative with 'the'.

My English is getting better.

Irregular comparative.

As ... as, and adjectives with prepositions

To say two things are equal, use 'as + adjective + as': 'The test was as hard as I expected.' The negative means one is less: 'It isn't as cold as yesterday.'

Many adjectives are followed by a fixed preposition, and there is no logic to learn — only the habit. Keep a list as you meet them.

good at, bad at: She is good at maths.
interested in, keen on: I am interested in art.
afraid of, proud of, tired of: He is afraid of flying.
worried about, excited about: We are excited about the trip.
similar to, different from: My accent is different from hers.

Making adjectives stronger or softer

Adverbs of degree change the strength of an adjective: quite cold, very cold, extremely cold.

Some adjectives are already extreme — freezing, exhausted, enormous, delicious. These do not take 'very'. Use 'absolutely' or 'really' instead: 'absolutely freezing', not 'very freezing'.

The meeting was fairly short.

Softening.

I was absolutely exhausted.

Extreme adjective, so 'absolutely' not 'very'.

Practice

Try it yourself

Five quick questions. You get the answer straight away, with a short explanation.

Score: 0 / 5

1.Which order is natural?
2.The lesson was ___ and I was ___.
3.Brighton is ___ than my home town.
4.She is very good ___ languages.
5.Which is correct?

Mistakes our teachers hear most often

I have two smalls brothers.

I have two small brothers.

English adjectives never take a plural -s.

She bought a red beautiful coat.

She bought a beautiful red coat.

Opinion comes before colour in the fixed order of adjectives.

The lesson was very boring, so I was very boring.

The lesson was very boring, so I was very bored.

-ing describes the cause, -ed describes the person feeling it.

This exercise is more easy.

This exercise is easier.

Short adjectives take -er, not 'more'.

He is more taller than me.

He is taller than me.

Never use 'more' together with an -er ending.

I am good in cooking.

I am good at cooking.

'Good' is followed by 'at' when you talk about a skill.

Questions students ask

What is the correct order of adjectives in English?: Opinion, size, physical quality, shape, age, colour, origin, material, type, purpose. For example: a lovely little old round brown Italian wooden dining table. In real speech you would rarely use more than three adjectives at once.
What is the difference between 'bored' and 'boring'?: 'Boring' describes the thing that causes the feeling, and 'bored' describes the person who feels it. A film can be boring, and you are bored by it. The same pattern applies to tiring and tired, interesting and interested, confusing and confused.
When do I use 'more' instead of -er?: Use -er with one-syllable adjectives and with two-syllable adjectives ending in -y: colder, happier. Use 'more' with longer adjectives: more expensive, more comfortable. Never use both together.
Do adjectives change in the plural in English?: No. Unlike Spanish, French or Italian, English adjectives have one form only. One green apple, ten green apples.
What level are adjectives taught at?: Basic adjectives and comparatives are covered at A1 and A2. Adjective order, -ed and -ing forms, and adjective plus preposition patterns are usually developed from B1 upwards, which is where most of our adult classes work.

Practise this with a teacher

Reading about grammar helps. Using it every day with a teacher who corrects you helps far more. We are a small, not-for-profit English school in Brighton with a maximum of 14 adults in a class.

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