Mastering Adjective Order in English: Describing Your Products Perfectly.

Duration: 50 minutes.

Let’s take a look at today’s lesson

Today, we will discuss the rule “Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose” and how it is a guideline for the order in which multiple adjectives should appear before a noun in English.

Lesson Key: (L) = Listening (U) = Understanding. (R) = Reading.

A small silver MacBook.

In English, the order of adjectives before a noun is important.
For example, we say “a small silver MacBook” instead of “a silver small MacBook.” Understanding this order helps you communicate more clearly and professionally.

In business, especially when describing products or services, using adjectives correctly can make your message more precise. This skill can improve your presentations, emails, and meetings in English. By mastering adjective order, you can describe products, services, and ideas more effectively in your daily work.

Adjective Order Reading Practice.
Maria is preparing for an important presentation.

Maria is preparing for an important presentation. She needs to describe her company’s new product: a compact, innovative device made for busy professionals. She writes down some adjectives: ‘innovative’, ‘compact’, ‘black’, ‘Swedish’, ‘plastic’, ‘useful’.

Maria wonders about the correct order. Should she say ‘a black compact Swedish plastic innovative useful device’? She’s confused.
Then, she remembers the adjective order rule: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose.

Using this rule, she arranges the adjectives: ‘an innovative compact black Swedish plastic devic:’ Now, her description sounds natural and professional. At the presentation, Maria confidently describes the product. Her clear communication impresses the clients, and they show interest in purchasing the new device.

In English, when you use multiple adjectives to describe a noun, there’s a specific order that makes the sentence sound natural to native speakers.
The order is: Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Purpose.

Opinion: This is what you think about something—your personal judgment or evaluation. Examples: beautiful, excellent, terrible, amazing
Size: Describes how big or small something is. Examples: small, large, tiny, enormous
Age: Indicates how old something is. Examples: new, old, ancient, modern
Shape: Describes the physical form of something. Examples: round, square, flat, sleek
Colour: The color of the object. Examples: red, blue, silver
Origin: Where something comes from—its nationality or geographic origin. Examples: American, Brazilian, Italian, German
Material: What something is made of. Examples: wooden, plastic, aluminum, cotton
Purpose: What something is used for; often ends with “-ing” or refers to the object’s function. Examples: cooking (pot), sleeping (bag), work (MacBook)

Why This Order Matters:

Using adjectives in the correct order:

Enhances Clarity: Makes your descriptions clear and easy to understand.
Sounds Natural: Helps your speech or writing sound more like that of a native English speaker.
Professional Communication: Important in business settings where precise descriptions are necessary.

Applying the Rule:

When combining these adjectives, you place them in the order above before the noun.
Here’s how it works with the MacBook example:

Opinion: excellent
Size: small
Age: new
Shape: sleek
Colour: silver
Origin: American
Material: aluminum
Purpose: work

Constructed Sentence:
“I bought an excellent small new sleek silver American aluminium work MacBook.”

Arrange Adjectives Game

Drag and drop the adjectives into the sentences below in the correct order. When you place them correctly, they will turn green, and the full sentence will be revealed.

Remember the order is: Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Purpose.

Sentence 1 Adjectives:

Sentence 2 Adjectives:

Sentence 1: She has a

Drop here

table.

Sentence 2: They drove an