A

djectives
1. Em inglês, a maioria dos adjetivos são situados antes do substantivo e/ou depois de
um verbo de ligação. Por exemplo:
She's got a red (adjective) shirt (noun).
I know a Spanish (adjective) teacher(noun).
My records are (copula verb) old(adjective).
It feels (copula verb) good (adjective).
2. Mas e quando queremos dar, a um substantivo, mais de uma adjetivação? Qual a
ordem dos adjetivos? Embora existam regras que nos forçam a colocá-los em uma ordem fixa,
elas são muito complicadas. Portanto, nos limitaremos a descrever as mais importantes. São
elas:
a) adjetivos de color, origin, material e purpose são colocados nesta ordem. Note:
It's a yellow (color), norwegian (origin), wooden (material), writing (purpose) pen.
b) outros adjetivos podem vir antes dos adjetivos de color, mas sua ordem é muito
complicada para enunciarmos regras. Veja:
I love her big brown eyes.
The second black dog.
The last little white cat.
3. De maneira geral, um adjetivo não pode vir desacompanhado de um substantivo. Mas
existem exceções, dependendo da construção e do contexto. Note:
a) numa escolha, quando o substantivo a que se referem os adjetivos desacompanhados
já tenha sido citado:
‘Do you have a pen?' ‘You want red or blue?'
b) quando nos referimos a uma característica de um grupo específico de pessoas:
He's a guy that helps the deaf.
Esta é uma construção em que deaf refere-se a um grupo de pessoas surdas, não a
uma em particular. Temos também the dead, the sick, the blind etc. Mas devemos notar um
caso importantíssimo:
the problems of the deaf ou deaf people's problems
mas nunca the deaf's problems
Adjectives w/ -ly ending
4. Em inglês, a maioria dos advérbios é formada adicionando-se o sufixo -ly ao adjetivo
de origem (careful/carefully, happy/happily etc.). Porém, existem algumas palavras que terminam
em -ly mas que, porém, não são advérbios, e sim adjetivos. As principais delas são: friendly,
lovely, lonely, ugly, silly, cowardly, likely, unlikely. Veja:
She was a lovely girl. (=ela era uma garota adorável)
His ugliness made him a lonely man. (sua feiúra fez dele uma homem solitário)
He was a cowardly soldier. (ele era um soldado covarde)
A dog can be the most friendly thing you'll meet in your life. (um cão pode ser a coisa mais
amigável que você verá na sua vida)
etc.
5. Para tomarmos essas palavras como advérbios, necessitamos de construções
diferentes. Veja:
Everytime we meet, she hugs me in a lovely way. (=toda vez que nós nos encontramos
ela me abraça adoravelmente)
A ordem dos adjetivos serve para que você não escreva mais de um adjetivo
de forma aleatória numa frase. Essa ordem precisa ser seguida de acordo com o tipo
de cada adjetivo. Veja abaixo o exemplo:
Algumas vezes nós podemos usar mais de um adjetivo na frase:
Ex: It´s a beautiful round wooden table.
(É uma mesa bonita, redonda e feita de madeira.)
Mas há uma maneira correta, ou seja, uma ordem em que esses adjetivos são
escritos antes do substantivo. Para isso devemos saber quais são os tipos de
adjetivos e suas ordens:
• Tipos de Adjetivos:
OPINION= indica o que você pensa a respeito, ou seja, OPINIÃO!
1- Opinion: indica opinião.
Exemplos: horrible, difficult, fun, etc.
FACT= indica o que é verdade, ou seja, o FATO!
 2-Size: indica tamanho.
Exemplos: large, little, short, tall, etc.
3-Age: indica idade.
Exemplos: new, old, adolescent, a year, etc.
4-Shape: indica forma.
Exemplos: round, flat, square, irregular, etc.
5-Color: indica cor.
Exemplos: red, blue, etc.
6-Origin: indica a origem.
Exemplos: Brazilian, American, etc.
7-Religion: indica religião.
Exemplos: Buddhist, Taoist, Pagan, etc.
8-Material: indica o tipo de material que é feito.
exemplos: wodden, paper, metal, etc.
9-Purpose: indica o propósito de seu uso.
Exemplos: sleeping bag, computer table, football field, etc.
• Ordem dos Adjetivos:
Agora que você já sabe quais são os tipos de adjetivos, precisa saber qual a
ordem correta ao escrevê-los. Para ficar mais fácil, divida a frase desta maneira:
Ex: A beautiful large round wodden table.
(uma mesa bonita, larga, redonda e feita de madeira.)
1º - divida a frase separando os adjetivos do substantivo;
2º - separe os adjetivos em: opinion ou fact;
3º- ordene corretamente.

Outros exemplos:
* A big round pink plastic ball. (Uma grande, redonda, rosa, bola de plástico.)
* An interesting young woman. (Uma mulher interessante e jovem.)
* Small blue eyes. (Pequenos olhos azuis.)
* An old American song. (Uma velha música Americana.)
* A nice big new red plastic sleeping bag. (Uma boa, nova, vermelha, bolsa
plástica de dormir.)
A ordem dos Adjetivos é essa:
1º qualidade (opinião) (nice, ugly, beautiful, dirty)
2º dimensão ou peso (small, long, big, heavy)
3º idade (old, new, antique, 19th century, 1970)
4º forma (round, oval, rectangular, flat, thin)
5º cor (blue, red, white, dark brown, bright yellow)
6º padrão (spotted, checked, striped, plain)
7º origem (British, Chinese, Italian, German)
8º material (metal, wooden, leather, plastic)
9º finalidade (fishing, swimming, garden, beer, flower)
10º substantivo (rod, costume, table, mug, vase, wallet)
A ordem dos adjetivos em inglês
[© 2011 by Denilso de Lima]
Hoje vamos falar sobre um assunto muito importante
para os aprendizes da língua inglesa: os adjetivos. Em inglês a
ordem das palavras é diferente do português, e isso confunde
muitos alunos que estão começando agora. Mas depois desta
dica simples e básica, tenho certeza que vocês não vão errar.
Vamos lá. Em inglês, os adjetivos na maioria das vezes são
usados antes dos substantivos.
Como assim? É só ver este exemplo: "carro novo" em
inglês dizemos "new car". Seria algo como 'novo carro.'
Quando temos um adjetivo e um substantivo, vamos inverter a
ordem:
• menino alto - tall boy
 • cidade grande - big city
• dia chuvoso - rainy day
• leite quente - hot milk
• casa bonita - beautiful house
• mulher elegante - elegant woman
Mas e quando queremos utilizar mais de um adjetivo? Como diz um respeitado
gramático da língua inglesa, "Unfortunately, the rules for adjective order are very complicated,
and different grammars disagree about the details" (infelizmente, as regras para a ordem dos
adjetivos são muito complicadas, e diferentes autores de gramáticas discordam com relação aos
detalhes).
Porém, muitos chegaram a um acordo, mas antes de eu dizer a ordem, quero reafirmar
que decorar regras não deve ser uma prioridade. A partir de hoje, ao invés de ficar repetindo e
decorando a regra, vocês vão prestar atenção ao redor, no livro de inglês, textos em inglês,
filmes e seriados, como os adjetivos são usados. Naturalmente você vai assimilar e aí fica difícil
de errar.
Mas vamos ver como ficaria uma frase mais complexa com mais adjetivos: se você tiver que falar
da cor, da origem, do material que é feito e para que se destina o substantivo a ordem será: cor -
origem - material - propósito:
• a black Italian leather shoe - um sapato italiano preto feito de couro
• a yellow American cotton T-shirt - uma camiseta amarela de algodão,
originária dos EUA.
• a red Chinese aluminum bike - uma bicileta de alumínio chinesa
vermelha.
Dificilmente você irá utilizar tantos adjetivos assim em uma frase, portanto, não se
preocupe. Sabendo o básico, você não terá problemas para se comunicar.
That's it! I wish you a nice week! Take care!
Definição
Os substantivos (nouns) normalmente estão acompanhados de palavras que dão a eles
algum significado ou característica. Os adjetivos (adjectives) representam uma dessas classes
de palavras, cuja função é a de descrever ou qualificar os substantivos (nouns) ou uma
construção equivalente aos substantivos (nouns).
Ao descrever algo ou alguma coisa usamos os adjetivos para caracterizá-los. Por
exemplo, ao descrevermos uma pessoa, esta pode ser alta (tall) ou baixa (short), gorda (fat) ou
magra (slim), ter cabelos pretos (black), ou loiros (blond) ou castanhos (brown); pode ser bonita
(beautiful) ou feia (ugly), etc.
Exemplos:
• He is a quite young, very handsome, and extremely charming.
• They lived in the small village of England.
• She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.
• He speaks perfect English.
Os adjetivos não se flexionam, ou seja, eles estão sempre no singular, mesmo que os
substantivos (nouns) estejam no plural. Assim como, também não apresentam gênero feminino
ou masculino.
• a new job (singular)
• a new jobs (plural)
• the last year (singular)
• the last years (plural)
• an old woman (feminino)
• an old man (masculino)
• a shy girl (feminino)
• a shy boy (masculino)
Muitos adjetivos podem ser identificados por seus sufixos.
• -able, -ible: confortable, terrible, illegible, impossible, capable
• -less: homeless, careless, helpless, motionless, restless
• -ic: fantastic, plastic, energetic, melodic, terrific
• -al: unusual, internal, functional, colossal, logical
• -ous: dangerous, nervous, mysterious, fabulous
• -ive: attractive, repulsive, inventive, persuasive
• -ful: wonderful, beautiful, grateful, awful, sucessful, careful
Mas uma grande quantidade deles não apresenta nenhuma terminação característica.
Observe:
 a d
f r p
arrogan differe
fresh rough poor
t nt
h s b p
hungry selfish bad proud kind
l
b f c p
lovel
bored sunny calm perfect
y
a
s b g l
ancien
soft busy good large
t
n d r b c
narrow dry irich big old
c w s f q
clear wrong strange fast quiet

Funções sintáticas dos adjetivos

Adjetivos Atributivos (Attributive Adjectives) e Adjetivos Predicativos (Predicative
Adjectives)
A maioria dos adjetivos podem estar localizados em uma sentença,
tanto antes quanto depois dos substantivos (nouns). Vejamos alguns exemplos abaixo:
• An old lady. (adjetivo+substantivo)
• The lady is old. (substantivo+verbo+adjetivo)
• A big cat. (adjetivo+substantivo)
• The cat is big. (substantivo+ verbo+adjetivo)
• A happy children. (adjetivo+substantivo)
• The children are happy. (substantivo+verbo+adjetivo)
Quando os adjetivos estão localizados antes do substantivo (noun) estes são
chamados Adjetivos Atributivos (Attributive Adjectives ).
• An old lady. (adjetivo+substantivo)
• A big cat. (adjetivo+substantivo)
• A happy children. (adjetivo+substantivo)
Quando os adjetivos estão localizados após os substantivos (nouns) estes são
chamados de Adjetivos Predicativos (Predicative Adjectives). É importante lembrar que eles
continuam a dar atributos aos substantivos (nouns).
Observe também, que os Adjetivos Predicativos não ocorrem imediatamente depois do
substantivo (noun). Eles são colocados logoapós um verbo.
• The lady is old. (substantivo+verbo+adjetivo)
• The cat is big. (substantivo+ verbo+adjetivo)
• The children are happy. (substantivo+verbo+adjetivo)
É importante observar que os Adjetivos Predicativos são usados apenas após alguns
verbos, especialmente com os verbos be, get ebecome. E também após os
verbos: feel, taste, seem, smell, sound e look.
Exemplos:
• Your daugther seems very nice.
• Be careful!
• This fish smells good.
• My husband is getting hungry.
• Jane seemed upset this afternoon.
• You look wet.
• This food tastes nice.
Após os outros verbos usamos os advérbios que serão explicados em outro capítulo:
Exemplos:
• Susan cooks very well.
• Drive carefully!
• Carol plays the guitar very well.
Quando usamos o verbo to look com sentido de parecer - to seem, usamos o adjetivo
após o verbo. Já quando temos look at, usamos advérbio após o verbo.
Exemplo:
• He looked happy yesterday night.
• He looked at her sadly.
Adjective order – Ordem dos adjetivos
Vimos que os Adjetivos Atributivos (Attributive Adjectives) são posicionados antes dos
substantivos (nouns). Vejamos mais alguns exemplos:
• a new job
• the modern history
• an intelligent woman
• a five children
• the last year
• a good movie
• an original drama
Mas é muito comum usarmos mais de um adjetivo antes de um substantivo (noun).
Quando existem dois ou mais adjetivos antes de um substantivo, temos que seguir uma certa
ordem ou seqüência para relacioná-los. Por exemplo:
He is a rich young man from the north of England.
Podemos notar no exemplo que existem dois adjetivos, rich e young, que definem o
substantivo man. E que o adjetivo rich vem antes do adjetivo young, pois de acordo com a ordem
dos adjetivos, adjetivos de opinião devem vir antes de adjetivos que definem idade.
E qual é a ordem correta dos adjetivos antes de um substantivo (noun)?
Na lista abaixo, temos a ordem mais usual na qual os adjetivos devem ser colocados
antes dos substantivos (nouns):
Ordem dos Adjetivos
1. Opinião (Opinion) - São aqueles que expressam opiniões sobre algo ou
alguma coisa.
Exemplos: light, happy, sad, silly, horrible, beautiful, difficult, good, pretty, right, wrong,
funny, full, soft, hard.
2. Tamanho (Size) - São aqueles que determinam o tamanho de algo ou
alguma coisa.
Exemplos: large, tiny, little, long, tall, enormous, little, big, small, short.
3. Idade (Age) - São os adjetivos que definem o quão novo ou velho é algo
ou alguma coisa.
Exemplos: Old, young, adolescent, teenage, middle-aged, ancient, new.
4. Forma (Shape) - São adjetivos que descrevem a forma ou formato do
substantivo.
Exemplos: square, round, circular, irregular, triangular, ovalsquare, flat, rectangular.
5. Cor (Colour) - Adjetivos que descrevem a cor dos substantivos(nouns).
Exemplos: brown, yellow, pink, blue, red, green, black, white, reddish, grey.
6. Origem (Origin) - São os que determinam a origem de algo ou alguma
coisa.
Exemplos: Spanish, Brazilian, eastern, American, lunar, German.
7. Material (Material) - Adjetivos que descrevem o tipo de material de que
é feito.
Exemplos:glass, cotton, sugar, ceramic, wooden, plastic, metal, paper, leather.
8. Propósito (Purpose) - Adjetivos que descrevem para que alguma coisa
é usada. Frequentemente terminam com -ing
Exemplos: dancing, roasting, sleeping, flower, decorative, beer.
Vamos a alguns exemplos que ilustram a ordem correta de dois ou mais adjetivos.
Lembre-se que os adjetivos vem antes dos substantivos (nouns) e não são separados por
vírgulas (commas):
• A tradicional portuguese food. (opinion - origin)
• A confortable brown leather riding shoes. (opinion - colour - material -
purpose)
• An expensive old German wooden piano (opinion - age - origin -
material)
• A modern oval pink plastic box. (age - shape - colour - material)
• A chinese ceramic decorative vase. (origin - material - purpose)
• Some good new French movies. (opinion - age - origin)
• A pretty little Spanish village. (opinion - size - origin)
Os números vem antes dos adjetivos, assim como first, next e last, são colocados
antes de números.
Exemplos:
• The last eleven valious vases.
 • Your next two rich husbands.
• I have two small requests to make.
• He has five red cars.
• In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a
noun -- for example, "He's a silly young fool," or "she's a smart, energetic
woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the
right order, according to type. This page will explain the different types of
adjectives and the correct order for them.
•
• The basic types of adjectives
An opinion adjective explains what you think about something
Opinion (other people may not agree with you). Examples:
silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult

A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.
Size Examples:
large, tiny, enormous, little

An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone

Age is. Examples:
ancient, new, young, old

A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples:

Shape
square, round, flat, rectangular

A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something.

Colour Examples:
blue, pink, reddish, grey

An origin adjective describes where something comes from.

Origin Examples:
French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek

A material adjective describes what something is made from.

Material Examples:
wooden, metal, cotton, paper

A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These

Purpose adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples:
sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin")
•
• Some examples of adjective order
• When you are sure that you understand the topic, you can click on "First
exercise" below to continue.
• Parte superior do formulário

1 Which is the correct order?

a small Canadian thin lady

a Canadian small thin lady

a small thin Canadian lady

 a thin small Canadian lady

2 Which is the correct order?

a carving steel new knife

a new steel carving knife

a steel new carving knife

a new carving steel knife

3 Which is the correct order?

a beautiful blue sailing boat

a blue beautiful sailing boat

a sailing beautiful blue boat

a blue sailing beautiful boat

4 Which is the correct order?

an old wooden square table

a square wooden old table

an old square wooden table

a wooden old square table

5 Which is the correct order?

an new French exciting band

a French new exciting band

an exciting French new band

an exciting new French band

6 Which is the correct order?

 a red big plastic hat

a big red plastic hat

a plastic big red hat

a bit plastic red hat

7 Which is the correct order?

a small Japanese serving bowl

a Japanese small serving bowl

a small serving Japanese bowl

a serving small Japanese bowl

8 Which is the correct order?

a cotton dirty old tie

a dirty cotton old tie

an old cotton dirty tie

a dirty old cotton tie

• Parte inferior do formulário

•
Adjectives cannot be written in any order. There are rules, so you should use the
following order:
1. Determiner or article
 Determiners e.g. this, that, these, those, my, mine, your, yours,
him, his, her, hers, they, their, Sam's ; or
 Articles - a, an, the

2. Opinion adjective
e.g. polite, fun, cute, difficult, hard-working

3. Size, including adjectives, comparatives and superlatives

 height; e.g. tall, short, high, low; taller, tallest
 width; e.g. wide, narrow, thin, slim; wider, widest
 length; e.g. long, short; longer, longest
 volume; e.g. fat, huge; fatter, fattest

4. Shape
e.g. circular, oval, triangular, square, 5-sided, hexagonal, irregular
 5. Age
e.g. new, young, adolescent, teenage, middle-aged, old, ancient

6. Colour
e.g. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, grey, black, black and white, light
blue, dark red, pale blue, reddish brown, off-white, bright green, warm yellow

7. Nationality
e.g. Hong Kong, Chinese, English, American, Canadian, Japanese

8. Religion
e.g. Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Moslem, pagan, atheist

9. Material
e.g. wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, paper, silk

10. Noun used as an adjective

e.g. campus (as in 'campus activities')

11. The noun that the adjectives are describing.

Sentence structure:
Together the article or determiner, adjective(s) and noun(s) make a 'noun phrase'. Noun phrases
can also have adverbs describing the adjectives; e.g. nearly circular; and can also have relative
clauses, although these are not discussed on this page.
Style:
Although it is possible to write a sentence that uses all the categories; e.g. 'my beautiful, long,
curving, new, pink, western, Christian, silk wedding dress', it is bad style as it is too long. Try to
use less than five adjectives in a single list. Therefore you could say "Have you seen my beautiful
new cream silk wedding dress? It's long and curving, and is in western Christian style."
How to remember the order
You can use the 'Roman room' memorisation technique. This involves remembering a place that
you know well, such as your home, and imagining walking through it, looking at things.
12. Imagine that you arrive at the door of your home. On the door is the
letter 'A', and you are greeted by someone who lives there. This helps you to remember
the article 'A' or the determiner(s); e.g. my Mother's.
13. Imagine that you are happy to see each other. This helps you to
remember the opinion adjective.
14. Imagine the size of your home: is it big, small, or long? This helps you
to remember the size adjectives.
15. Imagine that you go into your home and you see an object. Remember
the shape of the object.
16. Now imagine that you walk around your home; e.g. towards your room.
Think of another object further from the door. Think of the age of that object; e.g. new or
old.
17. Move on to another object, this time a colourful one. Remember
what colour it is.
18. Move on to another object. This object should remind you of a foreign
place; e.g. a picture of somewhere in China, or a souvenir from a holiday abroad. This is
to help you remember nationality.
19. Next imagine moving to another object, this time a religious one.
Maybe you have a place for worshipping your ancestors, or a statue of Buddha.
20. Next move to another object. This should be special because it is made
of one material; e.g. a crystal ornament or a wooden statue.
21. Finally move to a place where there is an object that is described with 2
words, and the first is a noun; e.g. a book shelf. Imagine that this is the end of your
journey around your flat.
Parte superior do formulário
Correct the order of the adjectives and nouns in the following sentences, then click
the 'See Answer' buttons to see the correct noun phrases:
 1.

Age, colour, determiner or article, material, nationality, noun used as an

adjective, opinion, religion, shape, main noun, size.
Answer:
Determiner or article, opinion, size, shape, age, colour, nationality, religion, material,
noun used as an adjective; then the main noun.
2.

desk office big ugly an wooden brown

Answer:
An ugly big brown wooden office desk.
1. Determiner or article - An
2. opinion - ugly
3. size - big
4. shape -
5. age -
6. colour - brown
7. nationality -
8. religion -
9. material - wooden
10. noun used as an adjective - office
11. the main noun - desk.
3.

hair long black straight my sister's

Answer:
My sister's long straight black hair.
1. Determiner or article - My sister's
2. opinion -
3. size - long
4. shape - straight
5. age -
6. colour - black
7. nationality -
8. religion -
9. material -
10. noun used as an adjective -
11. the main noun - hair.
4.

photograph black white and oval a family historic

Answer:
A historic oval black and white family photograph.
 1. Determiner or article - a
2. opinion - historic
3. size -
4. shape - oval
5. age - (not historic, as historic means about a famous event.)
6. colour - black and white
7. nationality -
8. religion -
9. material -
10. noun used as an adjective - family
11. the main noun - photograph.
5.

vase jade Ming beautiful a antique little green

Answer:
A beautiful little antique green jade Ming vase. (Antique means over one hundred years
old, and therefore valuable.)
1. Determiner or article - a
2. opinion - beautiful
3. size - little
4. shape -
5. age - antique
6. colour - green
7. nationality -
8. religion -
9. material - jade
10. noun used as an adjective - Ming
11. the main noun - vase.
6.

computer laptop high-tech brand-new deep university's blue my

Answer:
My university's high-tech brand-new deep blue laptop computer.
1. Determiner or article - My university's
2. opinion - high-tech
3. size -
4. shape -
5. age - brand-new
6. colour - deep blue
7. nationality -
8. religion -
9. material -
10. noun used as an adjective - laptop
11. the main noun - computer.

Parte inferior do formulário

There are general rules for using 2 or more adjectives are used together.
In most cases the adjectives are placed before the noun.
It is not common to used more then 3 adjectives together, but it is possible and can be
grammatically correct.
\
 • I love that really old big green antique car that always parked at the
end of the street.
• My sister has a big, beautiful, tan and white, bulldog.
When an article is used such as "a", "an" or "the", then the article is placed before the
adverb.
The 9 different adjective groups are listed below.
The order of the adjectives is as followed:
1. Determiner- a, an, her, five, many, much several etc.
2. Opinion - pretty, ugly, smart, cheap, etc.
3. Size - big, fat, thin, tall, large, small etc.
4. Shape - circle, square, tall, short etc.
5. Age - old, young 10 years, a year, a week, new etc.
6. Color - yellow, green, pink etc.
7. Origin - American, English, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European,
Chinese etc.
8. Material - cotton, wood, plastic, cloth, glass, gold etc.
9. Purpose/Qualifier - hat box, sleeping bag, computer table,safe island,
football field.
When there are 2 or more adjectives that are from the same group "and" is placed
between the 2 adjectives.
• The house is green and red.
• The library has old and new books.
When there are 3 or more adjectives from the same adjective group.
Place a comma between each of the adjectives.
A comma is not placed between an adjective and the noun.
• We live in the big, green, white and red house at the end of the street.
• My friend lost a red, black and white dog, if you see it please let me
know.
When using more than one adjective to describe a noun place the adjectives
in the following order before the noun.
NOTE: We usually use no more than three adjectives preceding a noun.
1. Opinion
Example: an interesting book, a boring lecture
2. Dimension
Example: a big apple, a thin wallet
3. Age
Example: a new car, a modern building, an ancient ruin
4. Shape
Example: a square box, an oval mask, a round ball
5. Color
Example: a pink hat, a blue book, a black coat
6. Origin
Example: some Italian shoes, a Canadian town, an American car
7. Material
Example: a wooden box, a woolen sweater, a plastic toy
Here are some examples of nouns modified with three adjectives in the
correct order based on the list above. Notice that the adjectives are not separated by
commas.
• A wonderful old Italian clock. (opinion - age - origin)
• A big square blue box. (dimension - shape - color)
• A disgusting pink plastic ornament. (opinion - color - material)
• Some slim new French trousers. (dimension - age - origin)
• book interesting - small - Spanish
ANSWER: an interesting small Spanish book
• picture modern - ugly - rectangular
ANSWER: an ugly modern rectangular picture
• opinion old - boring - American
ANSWER: a boring old American opinion
• apple ripe - green - delicious
 ANSWER: a delicious ripe green apple
• suit woolen - large - black
ANSWER: a large black woolen suit
• house beautiful - modern - small
ANSWER: a beautiful small modern house
• magazine German - slender - strange
ANSWER: a strange slender German magazine
• cap cotton - funny - green
ANSWER: a funny green cotton cap
If you had problems, make sure to go back to the first page and read through
theexplanation of adjective placement again.
1 a) nice yellow bow a)

Andrea had a in her hair

yesterday.

2 a) small w hite cat a)

She lost a .

3 c) some great big c)

I bought oranges.

4 b) tw o very smart b)

We met people at the

conference.

5 The clown was wearing b)

b) big green and yellow

a hat.

6 b) baked smell delicious b)

The cookies that you

.

7 b) getting cold outside b)

Is it ?

8 The course you a)

a) taking sounds interesting

are .

9 c) blue silk tie c)

My uncle wore a to the

wedding.

b) cute new boy

10 Have you met that next door?

b)

ADJECTIVES

Parte superior do formulário

 Select from the follow ing

Parte inferior do formulário

Definition
Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
The Articles — a, an, and the — are adjectives.
• the tall professor
• the lugubrious lieutenant
• a solid commitment
• a month's pay
• a six-year-old child
• the unhappiest, richest man
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adjective, it is called an Adjective
Clause. My sister, who is much older than I am, is an engineer. If an adjective clause is stripped of its
subject and verb, the resulting modifier becomes an Adjective Phrase: He is the man who is keeping my
family in the poorhouse.
Before getting into other usage considerations, one general note about the use — or over-use — of
adjectives: Adjectives are frail; don't ask them to do more work than they should. Let your broad-
shouldered verbs and nouns do the hard work of description. Be particularly cautious in your use of
adjectives that don't have much to say in the first place: interesting, beautiful, lovely, exciting. It is your job
as a writer to create beauty and excitement and interest, and when you simply insist on its presence
without showing it to your reader — well, you're convincing no one.
Consider the uses of modifiers in this adjectivally rich paragraph from Thomas Wolfe's Look
Homeward, Angel. (Charles Scribner's, 1929, p. 69.) Adjectives are highlighted in this color;participles,
verb forms acting as adjectives, are highlighted in this blue. Some people would argue that words that are
part of a name — like "East India Tea House — are not really adjectival and that possessive nouns
— father's, farmer's — are not technically adjectives, but we've included them in our analysis of Wolfe's
text.
He remembered yet the East India Tea House at the Fair, the sandalwood, the turbans,
and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and he had felt now the nostalgic thrill
of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the wet loaminess of the
garden, the pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of blossoms. He knew
the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of
watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside afarmer's covered wagon; of cantaloupe
and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire of coals. He knew
the good male smell of hisfather's sitting-room; of the smooth worn leather sofa, with
the gaping horse-hair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-
skinbindings; of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of wood-smoke
and burnt leaves in October; of the brown tired autumn earth; of honey-suckle at night;
of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes weekly with printed butter, eggs, and
milk; of fat limp underdone bacon and of coffee; of a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-
hued stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned well with salt and butter; of a room
of old pine boards in which books and carpets have been stored, long closed; of Concord grapes
in their long white baskets.
An abundance of adjectives like this would be uncommon in contemporary prose. Whether we
have lost something or not is left up to you.
Position of Adjectives
Unlike Adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a sentence,
adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes
they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to category.
(See Below.) When indefinite pronouns — such as something, someone, anybody — are modified by an
adjective, the adjective comes after the pronoun:
Anyone capable of doing something horrible to someone nice should be punished.
Something wicked this way comes.
And there are certain adjectives that, in combination with certain words, are always "postpositive"
(coming after the thing they modify):
The president elect, heir apparent to the Glitzy fortune, lives in New York proper.
See, also, the note on a- adjectives, below, for the position of such words as "ablaze, aloof,
aghast."
Degrees of Adjectives
Adjectives can express degrees of modification:
 • Gladys is a rich woman, but Josie is richer than Gladys,
and Sadie is the richest woman in town.
The degrees of comparison are known as the positive,
the comparative, and the superlative. (Actually, only the
comparative and superlative show degrees.) We use the
comparative for comparing two things and the superlative for
comparing three or more things. Notice that the
word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the
word the precedes the superlative. The inflected suffixes -er and -
est suffice to form most comparatives and superlatives, although
we need -ierand -iest when a two-syllable adjective ends
in y(happier and happiest); otherwise we use more andmost when
an adjective has more than one syllable.
Click on the "scary bear" to
read and hear George
Newall's "Unpack Your
Adjectives" (from Scholastic
Rock, 1975).
Schoolhouse Rock® and its
characters and other elements
are trademarks and service
marks of American
Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Used with permission.

Pos Compara Superlati

itive tive ve
rich richer richest
lov
lovelier loveliest
ely
bea more most
utiful beautiful beautiful
Certain adjectives have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative degrees:
Irregular Comparative and
Superlative Forms
good better best
bad worse worst
little less least
much
many more most
some
far further furthest

Be careful not to form comparatives or superlatives of adjectives which already express an

extreme of comparison — unique, for instance — although it probably is possible to form comparative
forms of most adjectives: something can be more perfect, and someone can have a fuller figure. People who
argue that one woman cannot be more pregnant than another have never been nine-months pregnant with
twins.
Grammar's Response
According to Bryan Garner, "complete" is one of those adjectives that does not admit of
comparative degrees. We could say, however, "more nearly complete." I am sure that I have not been
consistent in my application of this principle in the Guide (I can hear myself, now, saying something like
"less adequate" or "more preferable" or "less fatal"). Other adjectives that Garner would include in this list
are as follows:
 i p
absolute mpossible rincipal
i s
adequate nevitable tationary
i s
chief rrevocable ufficient
u
complete main nanimous
u
devoid manifest navoidable
u
entire minor nbroken
u
fatal paramount nique
u
final perpetual niversal
w
ideal preferable hole

From The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Styleby Bryan Garner. Copyright 1995 by
Bryan A. Garner. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., www.oup-usa.org, and used with the gracious
consent of Oxford University Press.

Be careful, also, not to use more along with a comparative adjective formed with -er nor to
use most along with a superlative adjective formed with -est (e.g., do not write that something is more
heavier or most heaviest).
The as — as construction is used to create a comparison expressing equality:
• He is as foolish as he is large.
• She is as bright as her mother.
Premodifiers with Degrees of Adjectives
Both adverbs and adjectives in their comparative and superlative forms can be accompanied by
premodifiers, single words and phrases, that intensify the degree.
• We were a lot more careful this time.
• He works a lot less carefully than the other jeweler in
town.
• We like his work so much better.
• You'll get your watch back all the faster.
The same process can be used to downplay the degree:
• The weather this week has been somewhat better.
• He approaches his schoolwork a little less
industriously than his brother does.
And sometimes a set phrase, usually an informal noun phrase, is used for this purpose:
• He arrived a whole lot sooner than we expected.
• That's a heck of a lot better.
If the intensifier very accompanies the superlative, a determiner is also required:
• She is wearing her very finest outfit for the interview.
• They're doing the very best they can.
Occasionally, the comparative or superlative form appears with a determiner and the thing being
modified is understood:
• Of all the wines produced in Connecticut, I like this
one the most.
• The quicker you finish this project, the better.
• Of the two brothers, he is by far the faster.
Authority for this section: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney
Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission.
 Less versus Fewer

When making a comparison between quantities we often have to

make a choice between the words fewer and less. Generally, when we're
talking about countable things, we use the word fewer; when we're talking
about measurable quantities that we cannot count, we use the word less.
"She had fewer chores, but she also had less energy." The managers at our
local Stop & Shop seem to have mastered this: they've changed the signs
at the so-called express lanes from "Twelve Items or Less" to "Twelve Items
or Fewer." Whether that's an actual improvement, we'll leave up to you.
We do, however, definitely use less when referring to statistical or numerical
expressions:
• It's less than twenty miles to Dallas.
• He's less than six feet tall.
• Your essay should be a thousand words or less.
• We spent less than forty dollars on our trip.
• The town spent less than four percent of its budget
on snow removal.
In these situations, it's possible to regard the quantities as sums of
countable measures.

Taller than I / me ??

When making a comparison with "than" do we end with a subject

form or object form, "taller than I/she" or "taller than me/her." The correct
response is "taller than I/she." We are looking for the subject form: "He is
taller than I am/she is tall." (Except we leave out the verb in the second
clause, "am" or "is.") Some good writers, however, will argue that the word
"than" should be allowed to function as a preposition. If we can say "He is
tall like me/her," then (if "than" could be prepositional likelike) we should
be able to say, "He is taller than me/her." It's an interesting argument, but
— for now, anyway — in formal, academic prose, use the subject form in
such comparisons.
We also want to be careful in a sentence such as "I like him better than she/her." The
"she" would mean that you like this person better than she likes him; the "her" would mean
that you like this male person better than you like that female person. (To avoid ambiguity and
the slippery use of than, we could write "I like him better than she does" or "I like him better
than I like her.")

More than / over ??

In the United States, we usually use "more than" in countable

numerical expressions meaning "in excess of" or "over." In England, there
is no such distinction. For instance, in the U.S., some editors would insist on
"more than 40,000 traffic deaths in one year," whereas in the UK, "over
40,000 traffic deaths" would be acceptable. Even in the U.S., however, you
will commonly hear "over" in numerical expressions of age, time, or height:
"His sister is over forty; she's over six feet tall. We've been waiting well
over two hours for her."
The Order of Adjectives in a Series
It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say "little brown house" and not "brown
little house" or why we say "red Italian sports car" and not "Italian red sports car." The order in which
adjectives in a series sort themselves out is perplexing for people learning English as a second language.
Most other languages dictate a similar order, but not necessarily the same order. It takes a lot of practice
with a language before this order becomes instinctive, because the order often seems quite arbitrary (if not
downright capricious). There is, however, a pattern. You will find many exceptions to the pattern in the
table below, but it is definitely important to learn the pattern of adjective order if it is not part of what you
naturally bring to the language.
The categories in the following table can be described as follows:
 I. Determiners — articles and other limiters.
See Determiners
II. Observation — postdeterminers and limiter adjectives
(e.g., a real hero, a perfect idiot) and adjectives subject to subjective
measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting)
III. Size and Shape — adjectives subject to objective
measure (e.g., wealthy, large, round)
IV. Age — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new,
ancient)
V. Color — adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale)
VI. Origin — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun
(e.g., French, American, Canadian)
VII. Material — denominal adjectives denoting what
something is made of (e.g., woolen, metallic, wooden)
VIII. Qualifier — final limiter, often regarded as part of the
noun (e.g., rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover)

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

Determin Observat Materi Qualifie
Physical Description Origin Noun
er ion al r
C
Size Shape Age
Color
o
a beautiful Italian touring car
old
antiqu
an expensive silver mirror
e
long-
four gorgeous stemme silk roses
red
d
b
her short hair
black
o
our big English sheepdog
old
woode
those square hat boxes
n
dilapidate
that little hunting cabin
d
enormo y America basketb
several players
us young n all
some delicious Thai food

This chart is probably too wide to print on a standard piece of paper. If you
click HERE, you will get a one-page duplicate of this chart, which you can print out on a
regular piece of paper.
It would be folly, of course, to run more than two or three (at the most) adjectives together.
Furthermore, when adjectives belong to the same class, they become what we call coordinated adjectives,
and you will want to put a comma between them: the inexpensive, comfortable shoes. The rule for inserting
the comma works this way: if you could have inserted a conjunction —and or but — between the two
adjectives, use a comma. We could say these are "inexpensive but comfortable shoes," so we would use a
comma between them (when the "but" isn't there). When you have three coordinated adjectives, separate
them all with commas, but don't insert a comma between the last adjective and the noun (in spite of the
temptation to do so because you often pause there):
a popular, respected, and good looking student
See the section on Commas for additional help in punctuating coordinated adjectives.
Capitalizing Proper Adjectives
When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it should probably be capitalized. Thus we
write about Christian music, French fries, the English Parliament, the Ming Dynasty, a Faulknerian style,
Jeffersonian democracy. Some periods of time have taken on the status of proper adjectives: the Nixon era,
a Renaissance/Romantic/Victorian poet (but a contemporary novelist and medieval writer). Directional and
seasonal adjectives are not capitalized unless they're part of a title:
We took the northwest route during the spring thaw. We stayed there until the town's
annual Fall Festival of Small Appliances.
See the section on Capitalization for further help on this matter.
Collective Adjectives
When the definite article, the, is combined with an adjective describing a class or group of people,
the resulting phrase can act as a noun: the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely, the
unlettered, the unwashed, the gathered, the dear departed. The difference between a Collective
Noun (which is usually regarded as singular but which can be plural in certain contexts) and a collective
adjective is that the latter is always plural and requires a plural verb:
• The rural poor have been ignored by the media.
• The rich of Connecticut are responsible.
• The elderly are beginning to demand their rights.
• The young at heart are always a joy to be around.

Adjectival Opposites
The opposite or the negative aspect of an adjective can be formed in a number of ways. One way,
of course, is to find an adjective to mean the opposite — an antonym. The opposite ofbeautiful is ugly, the
opposite of tall is short. A thesaurus can help you find an appropriate opposite. Another way to form the
opposite of an adjective is with a number of prefixes. The opposite of fortunate is unfortunate, the opposite
of prudent is imprudent, the opposite of considerate is inconsiderate, the opposite
of honorable is dishonorable, the opposite ofalcoholic is nonalcoholic, the opposite of being
properly filed is misfiled. If you are not sure of the spelling of adjectives modified in this way by prefixes
(or which is the appropriate prefix), you will have to consult a dictionary, as the rules for the selection of a
prefix are complex and too shifty to be trusted. The meaning itself can be tricky; for instance, flammable
and inflammable mean the same thing.
A third means for creating the opposite of an adjective is to combine it with less or least to create a
comparison which points in the opposite direction. Interesting shades of meaning and tone become
available with this usage. It is kinder to say that "This is the least beautiful city in the state." than it is to say
that "This is the ugliest city in the state." (It also has a slightly different meaning.) A candidate for a job can
still be worthy and yet be "less worthy of consideration" than another candidate. It's probably not a good
idea to use this construction with an adjective that is already a negative: "He is less unlucky than his
brother," although that is not the same thing as saying he is luckier than his brother. Use the
comparative less when the comparison is between two things or people; use the superlative least when the
comparison is among many things or people.
• My mother is less patient than my father.
• Of all the new sitcoms, this is my least favorite show.
Some Adjectival Problem Children
Good versus Well

In both casual speech and formal writing, we frequently have to

choose between the adjective good and the adverb well. With most verbs,
there is no contest: when modifying a verb, use the adverb.
He swims well.
He knows only too well who the murderer is.
However, when using a linking verb or a verb that has to do with
the five human senses, you want to use the adjective instead.
How are you? I'm feeling good, thank you.
After a bath, the baby smells so good.
Even after my careful paint job, this room doesn't look good.
Many careful writers, however, will use well after linking verbs
relating to health, and this is perfectly all right. In fact, to say that you
are good or that you feel goodusually implies not only that you're OK
physically but also that your spirits are high.
"How are you?"
"I am well, thank you."

Bad versus Badly

When your cat died (assuming you loved your cat), did you
feel bad or badly? Applying the same rule that applies to good versus well,
use the adjective form after verbs that have to do with human feelings. You
felt bad. If you said you felt badly, it would mean that something was
wrong with your faculties for feeling.

Other Adjectival Considerations

Review the section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers for the formation of modifiers created
when words are connected: a four-year-old child, a nineteenth-century novel, an empty-headed fool.
Review the section on Possessives for a distinction between possessive forms and "adjectival
labels." (Do you belong to a Writers Club or a Writers' Club?)
Adjectives that are really Participles, verb forms with -ing and -ed endings, can be troublesome
for some students. It is one thing to be a frightened child; it is an altogether different matter to be
a frightening child. Do you want to go up to your professor after class and say that you are confused or that
you are confusing? Generally, the -ed ending means that the noun so described ("you") has
a passive relationship with something — something (the subject matter, the presentation) has bewildered
you and you are confused. The -ing ending means that the noun described has a more active role — you are
not making any sense so you are confusing (to others, including your professor).
The -ed ending modifiers are often accompanied by prepositions (these are not the only choices):
• We were amazed at all the circus animals.
• We were amused by the clowns.
• We were annoyed by the elephants.
• We were bored by the ringmaster.
• We were confused by the noise.
• We were disappointed by the motorcycle daredevils.
• We were disappointed in their performance.
• We were embarrassed by my brother.
• We were exhausted from all the excitement.
• We were excited by the lion-tamer.
• We were excited about the high-wire act, too.
• We were frightened by the lions.
• We were introduced to the ringmaster.
• We were interested in the tent.
• We were irritated by the heat.
• We were opposed to leaving early.
• We were satisfied with the circus.
• We were shocked at the level of noise under the big tent.
• We were surprised by the fans' response.
• We were surprised at their indifference.
• We were tired of all the lights after a while.
• We were worried about the traffic leaving the parking
lot.
A- Adjectives
The most common of the so-called a- adjectives are ablaze, afloat, afraid, aghast, alert, alike,
alive, alone, aloof, ashamed, asleep, averse, awake, aware. These adjectives will primarily show up as
predicate adjectives (i.e., they come after a linking verb).
• The children were ashamed.
• The professor remained aloof.
• The trees were ablaze.
Occasionally, however, you will find a- adjectives before the word they modify: the alert patient,
the aloof physician. Most of them, when found before the word they modify, are themselves modified: the
nearly awake student, the terribly alone scholar. And a- adjectives are sometimes modified by "very much":
very much afraid, very much alone, very much ashamed, etc.
Adjectives order (English exercise n°42493 - Please quote this
number when contacting us)

Other English exercises on the same topic

Adjectives order
Sometimes we use two or more adjectives together :
- My parents live in a nice new house
- A dirty old black cat is wandering the streets

A / 'OPINION' ADJECTIVES
Adjectives like nice and dirty are opinion adjectives.They tell us
what you think about somebody or something.
Opinion adjectives usually go before fact adjectives

B/ 'FACT' ADJECTIVES
Adjectives like new, old, black are fact adjectives. They give us
factual information about, age and colour.
Sometimes we use two or more fact adjectives. Very often, we put
fact adjectives in this order :

1 / SIZE : How big ? Large, small, tiny, enormous

2/ AGE : How old ? New, young, old, ancient
3 / SHAPE : What shape ? Square, round, rectangular, flat
4 / COLOUR : What colour ? Blue, pink, yellow, crimson
5 / ORIGIN : Where from ? English, American, Chinese,French
6 / MATERIAL: What it is made of ? Plastic, cardboard, glass,
wooden
7 / PURPOSE : What it is used for ? Racing car, frying pan, rocking
chair

Examples :
- An interesting (opinion ) old (2) book
- An ugly (opinion) pink (4 ) plastic (6) ornament
- A nice (opinion) small (1) African (5) drum
- A delicious (opinion) round (3) chocolate (6) cake
- A pair of smart( opinion) brown (4) leather (6) boots
- A beautiful (opinion) small (1) white (4) Chinese (5 ) computer
- A
nice (opinion) big (1) old (2) square (3) white (4) French (5) china (6) plat
e*

* This last example comes from the BBC site, but we do not usually
put more than three adjectives together !

When there are two colour adjectives, we use and :

- A big green and yellow hat
 English exercise "Adjectives order" created by happy34 (08-05-2008)
with The test builder
Click here to see the current stats of this English test

beautiful w ooden square

1. At home there is a table in the dining room.

an unusual gold

2. I was offered ring by my husband.

a nice new w oollen

3. My grandmother has knitted pullover for me.

an interesting old American

4. I saw movie with friends at home.

big black

5. It may rain ! There are clouds floating in the air.

a lovely sunny

6. It was such day that we decided to go out for a walk.

beautiful long black

7. My daughter has hair.

a lovely little old

8. Last week, I visited village in a remote place.

strange old French

9. The gallery exhibited mainly paintings.

an adorable little black

10. John was given kitten by his sister

an enormous red and yellow

11. It started to rain so I opened umbrella

picturesque old

12. I came into a house built in 1860

shiny new Italian sports car

13. A was parked opposite my house.

Adjectives/adverbs
Adjectives - word order: When there are two or more adjectives before a
noun there are some complicated "rules" for the order in which they should appear.
These are the most important:
1. opinion adjectives come before fact adjectives
2. fact adjectives appear as follows: size - age - colour - origin -
material
Here are some examples:
• a silly old man (an old silly man )
• a beautiful blue butterfly (a blue beautiful butterfly )
• an interesting historical film (a historical interesting film)
• a huge metal box (a metal huge box )
• a new red dress (a red new dress )
• little Russian dolls (Russian little dolls )
You will need to consult a good reference grammar for full details on the order
of adjectives, and how they should be punctuated.
Do a quiz on this grammar topic.
Adjectives: -ed or -ing? English contains numerous -ed or -ing adjective
pairs derived from verbs. To avoid mixing these up, remember that the -
ed adjectives are used to describe how you feel, and the -ing adjectives are used for
what it is that makes you feel that way. Here are some examples:
• I feel tired. - Working in the garden all day is very tiring.
• I am bored. - This grammar lesson is boring.
• She was disappointed. - Her math test score
was disappointing.
• I'm interested in Ancient Egypt. - I think Ancient Egypt
isinteresting.
• He was shocked. - He found your behaviour shocking.
• I'm very confused by this film. - This film is very confusing.
Do a quiz on this grammar topic.
Adjective or adverb? In English most (but not all) adverbs have a different
form (spelling) than their corresponding adjective. It is important, therefore, that
you know whether you need an adjective or an adverb in the sentences you want to
say or write. Generally, adjectives are used to describe nouns and adverbs are used
with verbs to say howthings are done. In the following examples, the adjectives are
red and the adverbs are blue:
• He's a beautiful singer. - He sings beautifully.
• She's a very quick runner. - She can run very quickly.
• He's a careless writer. - He writes carelessly.
• She's a good worker. - She works well.
Adverbs are also used to give extra information about adjectives (or other
adverbs), as in the following examples:
• I am extremely happy in my new job.
• She's in hospital with a seriously injured neck.
• It's incredibly easy to make a mistake when knitting.
• The girl climbed dangerously high up the tree.
• Because of the thick fog I drove extremely carefully.
After certain verbs (e.g. be, become, seem, look, taste, smell, etc.) the
adjective, not the adverb, is used:
• She doesn't seem happy today.
• Don't be stupid!
• This meat tastes bad.
• Those flowers smell strange.
Do a quiz on this grammar topic.
Read about the comparative/superlative of adjectives and adverbs.