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Order of Adjectives

The document discusses the order of adjectives before a noun. It notes that there is a generally accepted order of adjectives that follows the acronym OSASCOMP, standing for opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, and noun. The order can sometimes be changed to emphasize certain adjectives. Examples are provided to illustrate the typical order and placement of determiners and adverbs.

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45 views1 page

Order of Adjectives

The document discusses the order of adjectives before a noun. It notes that there is a generally accepted order of adjectives that follows the acronym OSASCOMP, standing for opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, and noun. The order can sometimes be changed to emphasize certain adjectives. Examples are provided to illustrate the typical order and placement of determiners and adverbs.

Uploaded by

Kimball
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Order of Adjectives

It can sound quite strange if the adjectives are in a different order. However, there are two things to
remember. First, it’s very rare to use more than three adjectives before a noun. Second, sometimes the
order can be changed, usually to emphasize something.

Number four, five


Opinion comfortable, wonderful, pretty, horrible, lovely,
generous, good, difficult
Size huge, tiny, big, little
Age old, young, new, ancient
Shape triangular, round, square, rectangular, flat, long,
thin, fat, heart-shaped
Color black, reddish, mauve, grey, crimson
Origin Chinese, German, American, Indian
Material gold, plastic, wooden, silk, synthetic, clay, cotton,
leather
Purpose wedding (dress), flower (vases), sewing (machine),
swimming (pool), writing (paper), school (shoes),
sports (car)
Noun man
The first letter of these words spell ‘OSASCOMP’ (as pointed out by the fabulous Mignon Fogarty) and
thinking about the word ‘osascomp’ is a great way to remember the order of adjectives. Determiners
(words like ‘a’ or ‘some’ or’ several’) go at the beginning. We also put adverbs like ‘really’ and ‘very’ at the
beginning, though after the determiners. Here are some examples:

• I carried a very small black suitcase.

• They have some old French paintings.

• She was wearing a new red silk dress.

• That is a really ugly wooden chair.

• We bought a new round kitchen table.

• There are some new Chinese students in the class.

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