Adjective types: Your child knows this?

IN English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun.

Example: "That's a silly young boy,"  / "She's a smart, energetic woman."

But note that when you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to adjective type.

The basic types of adjective

• Opinion: An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (meaning other people may not agree with you).  Examples: terrible, stupid, silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult

• Size: A size adjective informs you about how big or small something is. Examples: huge, large, tiny, enormous, little

• Age: An age adjective states how young or old something or someone is. Examples: ancient, new, young, old

• Shape: A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples: oval, square, round, flat, rectangular

• Colour: A colour adjective describes the colour of something. Examples: green, blue, pink, reddish, grey

• Origin: An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples: Martian, French, American, eastern, Greek

• Material: A material adjective states what something is made from. Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper

• Purpose: A purpose adjective explains the use of the object. These adjectives usually end with "-ing". Examples: baking (as in "baking tray"), sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin")

Examples of adjective order

Using such an adjective order ie Opinion-->Size-->Age-->Shape-->Colour-->Origin-->Material-->Purpose, we have these examples...remember it does not mean that all types of adjective will be encountered at any one time, but the adjective order should help in arranging correctly whatever is given:

• a fierce large Russian man

• a big square wooden table

• a small blue paper boat

TIP:  For those who love reading, you really do not need to remember the order as it should become part of your natural appreciation of the language. Another reason to promote the reading habit in your child!

Now try these!

Try the following examples with your child!

1. Which is correct?
A. small Singaporean thin girl
B. Singaporean small thin girl
C. small thin Singaporean girl
D. thin small Singaporean girl

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