The Order of Adjectives

When we use more than one adjective before a noun, we must put them in a specific order. For example, native speakers naturally say "a big red car" and never "a red big car".

Here is the standard order of adjectives in English:

1. Quantity or Number: one, two, many, several
2. Opinion / Observation: beautiful, ugly, smart, difficult
3. Size: big, small, tall, massive
4. Physical Quality: rough, smooth, neat
5. Shape: round, square, flat
6. Age: old, young, new, ancient
7. Color: red, blue, green
8. Origin: French, lunar, American
9. Material: wooden, metal, plastic
10. Type / Purpose: sleeping (bag), running (shoes)

Examples in Sentences:

• I bought a beautiful, small, old, Italian, wooden table. (Opinion, Size, Age, Origin, Material)
• She was wearing a lovely, long, red, silk dress. (Opinion, Size, Color, Material)

Note: In everyday English, it is very rare to use more than three adjectives together to describe a single noun.