Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Order of Adjectives

There is an order of adjectives
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‘What’s the right order?

Many people say, “One good advice is to follow your instincts ...”. Cultivate an ear for the right word order”. Feeble, I know, but still... Well, actually there is an order of adjectives.

Adjective order is not a random or inexplicable part of English. Generally, adjective order is grouped as follows:

Opinion (pretty, lazy)
Size (small, large)
Age (old, young)
Shape (square, round)
Colour (red, green)
Origin (Malaysian, Burmese)
Material (plastic, wooden)
Purpose (dinner, coffee)
+ noun
Thus, we say:
a great (size) green (colour) dragon (noun)
a pretty (opinion) young (age) woman (noun)
a pretty (opinion) young (age) Burmese (origin) woman (noun)
a fine (opinion) old (age) house (noun)

Now, try these out!
Man / old / poor
Bowl / round / blue / big / salad
Table / antique / wooden
Apples / green / sour / large
Girl / little / sweet / Malay




Answers:
A poor old man
A big round blue salad bowl
An antique wooden table
Sour large green apples
A sweet little Malay girl

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