Boxi Learn › English › Stage 2 · Models and Patterns
Which adjective goes first?
EN-3 Word order is informationX-1 Guess, then check
What many people think
Adjectives in front of a noun can go in any order.
The idea
When several adjectives stand before a noun they follow a usual order — opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose — so a lovely big old wooden table sounds right and an old wooden big lovely table does not.
Explain it
A friend says “a wooden old lovely table”. Without just saying “it sounds wrong”, explain which words are in the wrong place and why — using the ladder.
Try at home
Pick an object at home and write three adjectives for it on separate slips of paper (e.g. small, old, metal). Shuffle the slips, then lay them out in the usual order in front of the object’s name and read it aloud. Swap objects with someone.