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:
- Quantity or Number: one, two, many, several
- Opinion / Observation: beautiful, ugly, smart, difficult
- Size: big, small, tall, massive
- Physical Quality: rough, smooth, neat
- Shape: round, square, flat
- Age: old, young, new, ancient
- Color: red, blue, green
- Origin: French, lunar, American
- Material: wooden, metal, plastic
- 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.