Adjectives and Adjective OrderA1–A2

Edit on

Where adjectives go, their fixed order, and -ed and -ing adjectives. Adjectives go before a noun, take no plural -s, and put size before colour and age before material: a big red bag, an old wooden table.

No information at the current level. This view starts at A1: choose A1 or a higher level.

CheatsheetA1–A2

Point	Rule	Example
adjective + noun	the adjective goes before the noun	She has a new phone.
verb + adjective	the verb is be, look, feel, sound, taste or smell	You look tired.
A2Several adjectives	opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose	a nice old wooden chair
A2-ed / -ing	-ed: how a person feels; -ing: what causes it	I'm bored. / The film is boring.
Trap	one form for singular and plural	two red cars
A2Trap	size before colour, age before material	a big red bag / an old wooden table

Form: position and agreementA1

Position	Pattern	Example
before a noun	adjective + noun	She has a new phone.
after be	be + adjective	My phone is new.
after look, feel, sound, taste, smell	verb + adjective	You look tired.
before a plural noun	adjective + plural noun	I like old films.

An adjective has one form for singular and plural, masculine and feminine.

Form: order of adjectivesA2

Several adjectives before a noun follow a fixed order:

Order	Type	Example
1	opinion	a lovely day
2	size	a big dog
3	age	an old car
4	shape	a round table
5	colour	a blue shirt
6	origin	a Spanish guitar
7	material	a wooden box
8	purpose (+ noun)	a running shoe

Opinion comes first, material and purpose come last: a nice old wooden chair
Most phrases use two or three adjectives: a small black cat / long dark hair
After be, the last two adjectives are joined with and: The room is big and bright.

Use: -ed and -ing adjectivesA2

Pair	-ed: how a person feels	-ing: what causes the feeling
bored / boring	I'm bored.	The film is boring.
interested / interesting	She's interested in art.	The book is interesting.
excited / exciting	We're excited.	The game is exciting.
tired / tiring	I'm tired.	The job is tiring.
surprised / surprising	He's surprised.	The news is surprising.

-ed describes how a person feels; -ing describes the person or thing that causes the feeling.

Typical errorsA1–A2

✗	✓	Rule
two reds cars	two red cars	adjectives take no plural -s
You look tiredly.	You look tired.	look / feel + adjective
A2a wooden old table	an old wooden table	age before material
A2a red big bag	a big red bag	size before colour
A2The film is bored.	The film is boring.	the cause takes -ing