When anadjective is used with a noun, the usual order in English is adjective + noun:
ayellowballoon
Not:a balloon yellow
See also:
Adjective phrases
Adjectives with nouns and verbs
Adjectives can go before thenoun (attributive) or after linking verbs such asbe, become, seem(predicative):
What abeautifulflower!(attributive)
This bridge looksunsafe.(predicative)
Some adjectives can only be used in one position or the other.
Adjectives normally only used before a noun
Numbers andfirst, last
With numbers and with words likefirst, last, next, the usual order isfirst/next+ number + adjective + noun:
Special offer on thelast threeremaining sofas.
There used to betwo bigfields here when I was young.
I don’t have to work for thenext fourdays.
That’s thesecond largestudy on unemployment this year.
Some adjectives of degree
When we use words likeabsolute, complete, perfectto talk about degree, they can only be used before nouns. This group of adjectives includesproper, pure, real, sheer, true, utter:
That’s anabsolutelie. I did not use your car when you were away.
Not:That lie is absolute.
Lily has always been atruefriend to me.
Not:My friend Lily is true.
Some adjectives of time and order
Some time and order adjectives, such asformer, present, future, are used before the noun only. Other examples arelatter, old(an old friend= ‘a friend for many years’),early(early French literature= ‘of the initial period in the history of something’), andlate(the late Mr Richards= ‘died recently’):
Herformerhusband had bought the house but she never liked it.
Not:Her husband was former…
This is a church from theearlyRomanesque period
Not:This is a church from the Romanesque period. The Romanesque period was early.
When we useearlyafter a verb (predicatively) it means something different.The train wasearlymeans that it came before we expected it.
Some adjectives that limit the following noun
Adjectives likecertain,main,major,only,particularlimit the noun that they go before (the only people who know, the particular road that we travelled on). Other examples areprincipal,sole(meaning ‘only’),very,chief:
Themainreason why the cinema closed is because the building was too old and dangerous.
Not:The reason is main why the cinema…
That’s theverytool I am looking for.(verymeans ‘exact’)
Not:That tool is very…
Adjectives normally only used after a noun
We use some -edforms after a noun:
Most of the issuesmentionedin the documentary are not very important.
Not:Most of the mentioned issues…
The difference in percentages is clear from the illustrationsshown.
Not: …from the shown illustrations.
Adjectives normally only used after a verb
Adjectives with the prefixa-
We can’t use adjectives with the prefixa- before a noun. We use them after linking verbs such asbe, seem, become, feel, smell, taste. Common examples of adjectives with the prefixa-includeawake, alive, asleep, aboard(on a plane, boat, bus or train),afloat, ablaze(on fire):
Katie wasawakeat the time.
Not:Katie was an awake person at the time.
People wereasleepin the bedroom.
Not:There were asleep people in the bedroom.
The passengers were allaboardwhen they heard the loud bang.
Not:The aboard passengers heard the loud bang.
If we want to express a similar meaning with an adjective in front of the noun, we can use a related adjective.
before a noun | after a verb |
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Some adjectives referring to states of health
Most commonly, the adjectivesillandwellare used after a verb and not before a noun:
I feelill.
Not:He went to visit his ill sister.
She’s notwell.
Not:He’s not a well child.
Words and phrases that go before and after adjectives
The most typical words and phrases that go before adjectives (premodifiers) are adverb phrasesexpressing degree:
He waspretty surprisedthen.
This cake tastesa bit strange.
Photographs arereally cheapnowadays.
The major exception is the degree adverbenough, which goes after the adjective (a postmodifier):
I amstrong enoughto face the difficulties.
Is that carbig enoughfor all of us?
See also:
Enough
Other types of adverbs can also go before adjectives:
He had lost hisusually calmattitude and become very nervous.(adverb of frequency + adjective)
He made aninsensitively timedremark that upset her.(comment adverb + adjective)
Gradable adjectives and words and phrases that go before them
Most common adjectives can express different degrees of qualities, properties, states, conditions, relations, etc. These are called gradable adjectives:
apretty bigmeal
areally bigmeal
anextremely bigmeal
Before gradable adjectives, we can use words which show different degrees of the feature in question. These are usually adverb phrases.
| an adverb of degree used before gradable adjectivehigh. |
I can’t believe the waves arethathighin the winter. | This highwould usually be spoken with a gesture showing a specific height. That highrefers to a statement made by someone about the height of the waves or to the moment of seeing the high waves. |
| Six metresis a noun phrase. Certain adjectives expressing measurable features (e.g. height, thickness, age, time) may be modified by such noun phrases:
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Some degree adverbs (so, too, as) need a word or phrase to complete their meaning (a complement). The complementmay be a clause or a phrase. The complement comes after the adjective head.
| Sois the degree adverb before the adjectivehigh. It needs the complementthat they went onto the streetin order to complete its meaning. |
| Toois the degree adverb before the adjectivehigh. It needs the complementto go sailingin order to complete its meaning. |
| To say that things are the same, we useas +adjective +as +complement. |
| To compare two things which are different, we add the suffix-erto the adjective before the complement. |
Howis used to ask questions and to make exclamations about degree. There is an important difference in word order.
| A question about degree: how+ adjective + verb + noun phrase? |
| An exclamation about degree: how+ adjective + noun phrase + verb! |
Some adjectives cannot be made bigger, smaller, higher, lower, stronger, weaker, etc. These are called ungradable adjectives:
The tree isdead.
Not:The tree is fairly dead.
My dog isfemale.
Not:My dog is sort of female.
Other common ungradable adjectives include:automatic/manual;Irish/Brazilian/Thaietc.;married/unmarried/single.
Gradable opposites (antonyms)
Open-ended
The most common gradable adjectives can be grouped into pairs of opposites (antonyms) which refer to features like height:short – tall; heat:hot – cold, size;big – small, etc.These adjectives are at the upper and lower parts of an open-ended scale (a scale with no maximum or minimum):
short | tall |
big | small |
We can’t use ungradable adverbssuch ascompletely, absolutely, entirely, utterlyortotallybefore these adjectives because they are open-ended:
My working day isverylong. I start work at 8 am and I don’t finish until 8 pm.
Not:My working day is completely long.
My house issohot.
Not:My house is absolutely hot.
This office isextremelysmall.
Not:This office is totally small.
Maximum and minimum
Some other gradable adjectivescan express features which have a maximum and/or minimum (zero) value:
full | empty |
possible | impossible |
black | white |
We can use degree adverbs such asabsolutely, completely, entirely, totallyand other similar words before these adjectives:
We haven’t had rain for two months. The garden iscompletely dry.
The city centre isabsolutely fullof tourists at this time of year.
Other degree adverbs which we can use before this type of gradable adjective includealmost, barely, half, scarcely:
Brain cell regeneration isalmost possible, say scientists.
The ungradable adverbquitehas different meanings depending on whether it is used with an open-ended gradable adjective (hot – cold) or an adjective which has a maximum and/or minimum (black – white).
| quitemeans ‘fairly’ |
| quitemeans ‘completely’ In this context,quiteis given extra spoken stress. |
See also:
Quite
Gradable and ungradable
Different meanings of adjectives before the noun and after the verb
We can use some adjectives before the noun or after the verb but the meaning differs.
before the noun (attributive) | after the verb (predicative) |
(particularmeans ‘this and not any other/specific’) |
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(latemeans ‘not on time’) |
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Adjectives before nouns that modify other nouns
A noun (n) is sometimes used before another noun to give more information about it. This is called a noun modifier. Adjectives (adj) come before noun modifiers:
He drives a[ADJ]red[N]sports[N]car.
That’s anexpensive laserprinter.
See also:
Nouns
Order of adjectives in noun phrases with articles and degree modifiers
When adjectives are used before the noun (attributive function), there are also sometimes degree adverbs. Different degree adverbs require different positions for the adjective phrase.
Positions of indefinite articleand degree adverbs.
indefinite article | degree adverb | adjective | noun |
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very moderately extremely |
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indefinite article | adjective | degree adverb | noun |
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Special cases
Quite:quite a cold day
The normal order withquiteisquite a cold day. The ordera quite cold day(indefinite article + intensifier + adjective) is also possible but it is not as common.
Rather:a rather cold day
The normal order withratherisa rather cold day. The orderrather a cold day(intensifier + indefinite article + adjective) is also possible but it is not as common.
See also:
Quite
Rather
Asandso:a man as/so tall as him
The most common order withasandsoin negative clauses in speaking isa man as/so tall as him(as/so+ adjective +as+ complement):
I haven’t seen a manas tall ashim before.
You won’t often find a roomso small asthat.
The orderas/so talla man as himis also possible but it is more common in writing.
See also:
Adverbs
Enough
Quite