2 Some adjectives give a specific opinion . We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds of noun :
Types of adjectives
Food : tasty ; delicious
Sometimes we use more than one adjective in front of a noun :
He was a nice intelligent young man .
She had a small round black wooden box .
Opinion adjectives :
Some adjectives give a general opinion . We can use these adjectives to describe almost any noun :
good , bad , lovely , strange , beautiful , nice , brilliant , awful , important , wonderful , nasty
Furniture , buildings : comfortable ; uncomfortable
People , animals : clever ; intelligent ; friendly
We usually put a general opinion in front of a specific opinion :
Nice tasty soup . A nasty uncomfortable armchair A lovely intelligent animal
It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives . Adjectives usually come in this order :
Link verbs
We use some adjectives only after a link verb :
afraid alive alone asleep
content |
glad |
ill |
ready |
sorry |
sure |
unable |
well |
Some of the commonest -ed adjectives are |
normally used only after a link verb : |
In front of a noun
A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun :
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annoyed ; finished ; bored ; pleased ; thrilled
We say :
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north south east west |
northern southern eastern western |
countless occasional lone |
eventful indoor outdoor |
Our teacher was ill . |
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My uncle was very glad when he heard the news .
The policeman seemed to be very annoyed
but we do not say :
We had an ill teacher .
When he heard the news he was a very glad
We say :
He lives in the eastern district . There were countless problems with the new machinery .
but we do not say :
The district he lives in is eastern The problems with the new machinery were countless .
Try these tasks to improve your adjective ordering . uncle
He seemed to be a very annoyed policeman .