Order of Adjectives
Stack adjectives before a noun in this order — opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose (OSASCOMP) — and keep it to two or three at once, since native speakers rarely use more even when a longer chain is grammatically correct.
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Describing a noun with more than one adjective in a fixed, natural-sounding order
- •Writing vivid descriptions (stories, product listings, reviews) where precision matters
- •Answering 'What is it like?' with several qualities at once
- •Avoiding the 'foreign-sounding' mistake of ordering adjectives by instinct from another language
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Try 5 cards free — no signup →What order do adjectives go in?
English fixes the order of "fact" adjectives before a noun: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose — remembered by the acronym OSASCOMP. "A lovely small old round silver French — sewing box" shows all eight slots, though real sentences almost never use them all at once.
How many adjectives can I use before a noun?
In real speech, native speakers rarely stack more than two or three adjectives at once, even when a longer chain would be grammatically correct — four or more starts to sound like a list rather than natural description. Pick the most important qualities and drop the rest.
Do I need commas between adjectives?
Use a comma between two adjectives from the same category, like two opinions or two colours ("a happy, excited child"), but not between adjectives from different categories ("a small red ball," no comma). Never add a comma directly before the noun itself.
Comparison Table
| Form | Category | Example words |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opinion | lovely, terrible, gorgeous | |
| 2. Size | small, huge, tiny | |
| 3. Age | old, new, ancient | |
| 4. Shape | round, square | |
| 5. Colour | red, silver | |
| 6. Origin | French, Italian | |
| 7. Material | wooden, plastic | |
| 8. Purpose | sewing, sleeping |
Save this comparison chart
More Examples
I need a strong black coffee.
opinion/quality + colour + noun
They live in a lovely little old stone cottage.
opinion + size + age + material + noun
He gave her a gorgeous, round, diamond engagement ring.
opinion + shape + material + purpose + noun
We saw a huge, ancient, round wooden table.
size + age + shape + material + noun
She wore a stylish new red Italian jacket.
opinion + age + colour + origin + noun
That's a horrible, cheap, plastic toy.
opinion + [quality] + material + noun
Common Mistakes
- ✗Ordering adjectives by instinct or word length instead of category: 'a red big car' instead of 'a big red car'.
- ✗Placing the origin or material adjective before size/age/shape: 'a wooden old table' instead of 'an old wooden table'.
- ✗Stacking too many adjectives (4+) in normal speech — it sounds unnatural even when the order is technically correct.
- ✗Adding a comma before the noun itself: 'a small, old, red, car' — no comma directly before the noun.
Tips
- ✓Remember the order with the acronym OSASCOMP: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose.
- ✓In real speech, native speakers rarely use more than 2-3 adjectives before a noun — pick the most important ones.
- ✓Use a comma between adjectives from the same category (two opinions, two colours) but not between different categories: 'a happy, excited child' but 'a small red ball'.
Advanced Notes
Native speakers rarely stack more than two or three adjectives at once — long chains sound like a list rather than natural speech, even when the order is grammatically correct. The rule is strictest for 'fact' adjectives (size, age, shape, colour, origin, material) — swapping these sounds clearly wrong to a native ear. Opinion adjectives (lovely, terrible, interesting) are more flexible and can sometimes shift for emphasis, especially in casual speech. Purpose adjectives (sleeping bag, sewing box) sit closest to the noun because they function almost like part of a compound noun.
FAQ
What is the correct order of adjectives in English?
Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose — OSASCOMP. For example: "a lovely small old round silver French sewing box" follows every category in order, though most real sentences use only two or three of them.
Why is "a red big car" wrong?
Colour (red) comes after size (big) in the fixed order, so the categories are swapped. The correct order is "a big red car" — size before colour.
Do you say "an old wooden table" or "a wooden old table"?
"An old wooden table" — age (old) comes before material (wooden) in the OSASCOMP order. Placing material or origin before size, age, or shape is a common learner mistake.
How many adjectives can I stack before a noun?
Grammatically there's no hard limit, but natural spoken English rarely uses more than two or three at once. Four or more, even in the correct order, tends to sound like a list rather than a real description.
Do I put a comma before the noun after several adjectives?
No — never a comma directly before the noun: "a small, old, red car" is wrong. Commas only separate adjectives from the same category (two opinions, two colours), not adjectives from different categories, and never appear right before the noun.
Practice
- 1.They live in a (little / lovely) old stone cottage.
- 2.We saw a (round / ancient) wooden table.
- 3.She wore a (red / new) Italian jacket.
- 4.That's a (plastic / cheap) toy.
- 5.He gave her a (diamond / round) ring.
Compare With
Other B1 Topics
Present Perfect
Used for past actions that still matter or connect to now
Present Perfect Continuous
Used for ongoing actions that started in the past and still continue
Modal Verbs
Expresses ability, obligation, permission, or possibility
Passive Voice (Basic)
Used for sentences where the action or result matters more than who did it
Used To
Used for past habits or states that no longer exist
Future Continuous
Used for actions in progress at a specific future moment
Question Tags
Used for confirming information or seeking agreement at the end of a statement
Linking Words: However, Although, Despite, In Spite Of
Used for connecting contrasting ideas using concession and contrast markers
Relative Clauses (Defining)
Clauses that identify exactly which person, thing, or place you mean.
So and Such
Use so before adjectives/adverbs and such before nouns to emphasize degree, often followed by a that-clause showing the result.
Future Time Clauses
Use present simple, not will, after when/as soon as/before/after/until/once even when the meaning is future.
Subject and Object Questions
Who broke it? vs Who did you see? — question word as subject or object.