Adjective Order
When you use more than one adjective to describe a noun, the adjectives need to follow a specific order so the sentence sounds natural and correct.
What You'll Learn
At P4 level, you will learn:
- The full OSASCOMP order for arranging multiple adjectives: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose
- How to place three or more adjectives in the correct sequence
- When to use commas between adjectives and when not to
When to Use
- Describing with two or more adjectives: "She wore a lovely little hat." (opinion before size)
- Writing detailed descriptions: "He carried a large old rectangular suitcase." (size before age before shape)
- Talking about where things come from and what they are made of: "We bought a round Japanese wooden bowl." (shape before origin before material)
- Explaining what something is for: "Dad put the tools in a big metal storage box." (size before material before purpose)
- Making your writing more interesting: "The beautiful small young kitten played in the garden." (opinion before size before age)
How to Form
The OSASCOMP Order
When you need to put adjectives in order, follow this sequence:
| Position | Category | What It Tells Us | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Opinion | What you think about it | beautiful, lovely, ugly, nice |
| 2nd | Size | How big or small it is | big, small, tiny, huge, tall |
| 3rd | Age | How old or new it is | old, young, new, ancient |
| 4th | Shape | What shape it is | round, square, flat, long |
| 5th | Colour | What colour it is | red, blue, green, brown |
| 6th | Origin | Where it comes from | Chinese, Japanese, Malay |
| 7th | Material | What it is made of | wooden, plastic, metal, silk |
| 8th | Purpose | What it is used for | sleeping (bag), writing (desk) |
Putting It Together
| Adjectives Used | Correct Order | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| red, big | a big red ball | size, colour |
| old, beautiful | a beautiful old painting | opinion, age |
| wooden, small, round | a small round wooden table | size, shape, material |
| Chinese, lovely, silk | a lovely Chinese silk scarf | opinion, origin, material |
| new, blue, long | a new long blue ribbon | age, shape, colour |
| plastic, ugly, big | an ugly big plastic bag | opinion, size, material |
When to Use Commas
| Situation | Comma? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjectives from different categories | No | a big red ball (size + colour) |
| Adjectives from the same category | Yes | a kind, gentle teacher (opinion + opinion) |
Test: Try putting "and" between the adjectives. If it sounds natural, use a comma. "A kind and gentle teacher" sounds fine, so use a comma. "A big and red ball" sounds odd, so no comma.
Key Rules
-
Follow OSASCOMP: Opinion always comes first, and purpose always comes last. The order in between follows the pattern: Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material.
-
You rarely use all eight categories at once: Most sentences use two or three adjectives. Even with just two, the order still matters. "A big red ball" is correct, not "a red big ball."
-
Purpose adjectives act almost like part of the noun: Words like "sleeping" in "sleeping bag" or "writing" in "writing desk" are so closely linked to the noun that they always go right before it.
-
Numbers come before OSASCOMP: If you use a number, it goes before all the describing adjectives. "Three beautiful small kittens" -- not "beautiful three small kittens."
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Origin adjectives are often proper adjectives: Words like "Chinese", "Japanese", and "Malay" are capitalised because they come from proper nouns (names of countries).
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Do not use commas between adjectives from different categories: "A lovely old wooden chest" needs no commas because "lovely" (opinion), "old" (age), and "wooden" (material) are from different categories.
Common Mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| a red big ball | a big red ball | Size (big) comes before colour (red) |
| a wooden old table | an old wooden table | Age (old) comes before material (wooden) |
| a Chinese beautiful vase | a beautiful Chinese vase | Opinion (beautiful) comes before origin (Chinese) |
| a sleeping large bag | a large sleeping bag | Size (large) comes before purpose (sleeping) |
| a square small box | a small square box | Size (small) comes before shape (square) |
| a new, red car | a new red car | No comma needed -- age and colour are different categories |
Clue Words
When you spot these types of words together before a noun, check the OSASCOMP order:
Opinion words (always go first)
beautiful, lovely, ugly, nice, wonderful, terrible, cute, pretty, gorgeous, awful
Size words (second position)
big, small, tiny, huge, tall, short, enormous, little
Material words (near the end, before purpose)
wooden, plastic, metal, glass, silk, cotton, leather, rubber, stone
Purpose words (always last, right before the noun)
sleeping (bag), writing (desk), shopping (bag), washing (machine), running (shoes)
Tip: Remember the phrase "Oh So Amazing, Scooping Colourful Oriental Marshmallow Pudding" -- the first letter of each word matches the OSASCOMP order: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose!
Practice Tips
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Use the OSASCOMP check: When you write two or more adjectives before a noun, label each adjective with its category (O, S, A, S, C, O, M, P). Then check if they follow the correct order.
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Read it aloud: English speakers naturally feel when adjective order sounds wrong. If your sentence sounds odd when you say it, the order might be incorrect.
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Start with two adjectives: Practise ordering pairs of adjectives first (e.g., size + colour, opinion + age) before trying three or more at once.
-
Look for the "and" test with commas: If you can naturally say "and" between two adjectives and it sounds right, they are probably from the same category and need a comma. If not, they are from different categories and follow OSASCOMP order without a comma.
Quick Reference
| Category | Position | Example Words | Example Phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | 1st | lovely, ugly, nice, beautiful | a lovely small cat |
| Size | 2nd | big, small, tiny, huge, tall | a lovely small cat |
| Age | 3rd | old, new, young, ancient | a lovely small young cat |
| Shape | 4th | round, square, flat, long | a small round brown coin |
| Colour | 5th | red, blue, green, brown | a small round brown coin |
| Origin | 6th | Chinese, Malay, Japanese, Indian | a beautiful Japanese wooden bowl |
| Material | 7th | wooden, plastic, metal, silk | a beautiful Japanese wooden bowl |
| Purpose | 8th | sleeping, writing, shopping, running | a large blue sleeping bag |
Order at a Glance
O pinion --> S ize --> A ge --> S hape --> C olour --> O rigin --> M aterial --> P urpose --> NOUN