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Oxford Online English, Adjective Order in English - English Grammar Lesson

Adjective Order in English - English Grammar Lesson

Oh, hello.

I'm Oli.

Welcome to Oxford Online English.

Sorry, I'm just standing here.

I'm drinking a cup of a strong Italian black coffee.

Wait, is it black Italian strong coffee?

That doesn't sound right.

Italian black strong coffee?

Anyway, in this lesson you can learn how to put adjectives in the right order.

Let's go back to the example I was having so many problems with.

You want to use the words "coffee," "black," "Italian," and "strong" all together.

They can go in many different orders.

Which is correct?

"Strong black Italian coffee," "Strong Italian black coffee," "Black strong Italian coffee,"

"Black Italian strong coffee," "Italian black strong coffee," or "Italian strong black coffee?"

What do you think?

Is there only one possibility, or is there more than one right answer?

Think about it.

There is only one possibility, "strong black Italian coffee."

Do you know why this is the right answer?

In English when we use several adjectives before a noun, the adjectives have to go in

a particular order.

Of course your meaning will still be clear if you make a mistake with adjective order.

It's not a big problem.

However, it is very noticeable especially to native speakers if someone makes a mistake

with adjective order.

So if you want your English to sound correct and natural, you need to learn how to use

adjectives in the correct order.

Let's start with a simple rule that you can use.

Rule number one: opinions go first, facts go second.

The full rules for adjective order, which you'll see in a minute, are complicated and

not very practical.

However, there is a simple rule which you can use.

Adjectives which describe an opinion go before adjectives which describe a fact.

For example, adjectives like 'nice', 'beautiful', 'useful', or 'delicious' all describe opinions.

Just because you describe something as delicious, it doesn't mean that everybody will agree

with you.

Adjectives like 'big', 'new', 'green', or 'silk' describe facts.

Take a second, try to think of some more adjectives which describe opinions or facts.

Think about it.

Now let's see our rule in action with some examples.

"They live in a beautiful old house on the edge of the city."

"We had some delicious Korean food with some friends."

"Why are you wearing those ugly purple trousers?"

"She has an interesting new perspective on the economic situation."

In all of these sentences, we used two adjectives before a noun, and you can see that the adjective

of opinion goes first and the adjective of fact goes second.

Rule two: general ideas go before specific ideas.

There's another general rule which works well if you don't know the correct word order.

Adjectives which describe a general idea go before adjectives which describe a specific

idea.

For example, if you say, "A long wooden table."

The word 'long' is more general.

Many things can be long in many different ways.

A street can be long, a story, or a speech can be long.

You can have a long day and so on.

'Wooden' is more specific.

Generally speaking, something can only be wooden if it's actually made of wood.

So we put 'long' first and we say, "A long wooden table."

Can you think of any other adjectives which have a general meaning?

Adjectives like 'old', 'hot', or 'small' all have a general meaning because they can be

used with many different meanings to describe many different things.

On the other hand, adjectives like 'green', 'French' or 'straight' are more specific.

If something is green, that's quite a specific idea.

Okay, let's see this rule in action with some examples.

"He works for a small Canadian company."

"I love these old black-and-white films."

"We bought a new leather sofa for the living room."

"I need to buy a really warm woolly hat."

Again, we used two adjectives with each noun.

In each case, the adjective with a more general meaning goes first, and the adjective with

a more specific meaning goes second.

Okay, point three, let's look at the full rule.

We said before that the full rule for adjective order is quite complicated.

I'm showing you just for your interest.

Are you ready?

The full rule is: opinion, size, other qualities, age, colour or pattern, nationality and the

material.

Okay?

So we could say for example, "She bought a beautiful long warm new black-and-white striped

Italian silk scarf."

We have opinion, 'beautiful'; the size, 'long'; another quality, 'warm'; an age, 'new'; a

color, 'black-and-white'; a pattern, 'striped'; nationality, 'Italian'; and the material,

'silk'.

So, do you need to know this rule?

No, not really.

First of all, it's too complicated.

You can't carry this around in your head and use it when you speak.

Secondly, it's very rare that we use more than two or three adjectives with a noun;

it almost never happens.

And three, native speakers don't always follow these rules, especially when there are more

than two or three adjectives.

So it doesn't matter so much what you do in those cases.

However, this doesn't mean that adjective order doesn't matter, it does.

If you make a mistake like, "She has black straight short hair," this sounds a bit strange,

a bit wrong, and native speakers will hear and notice mistakes like these.

Okay, part four, let's look at some advice you can use, and let's review what we've talked

about.

Point one: trust your instinct.

If it sounds right, it probably is.

If it sounds wrong, it probably is.

Point two: remember the basic rules: general before specific, opinion before fact.

These rules can help you in most of the situations you will meet in everyday speaking.

That's the end of the lesson.

Thanks very much for watching.

I hope you found it useful.

Do you want some more practice with this?

Well, check out the full version of the lesson on our website, oxfordonlineenglish.com.

You can also see many other free English lessons.

That's all for today.

Thanks again!

I'll see you next time.

Bye-bye!


Adjective Order in English - English Grammar Lesson Adjektiv-Reihenfolge auf Englisch - Englische Grammatik-Lektion Orden de los adjetivos en inglés - Lección de gramática inglesa Ordre des adjectifs en anglais - Leçon de grammaire anglaise Ordine degli aggettivi in inglese - Lezione di grammatica inglese 英語での形容詞の並び順 - 英文法レッスン 영어 형용사 순서 - 영어 문법 수업 Volgorde bijvoeglijk naamwoord in het Engels - Engelse grammaticales Kolejność przymiotników w języku angielskim - Lekcja gramatyki angielskiej Ordem dos Adjectivos em Inglês - Lição de Gramática Inglesa Порядок прилагательных в английском языке - Урок грамматики английского языка İngilizcede Sıfat Sıralaması - İngilizce Dilbilgisi Dersi Порядок прикметників в англійській мові - урок граматики англійської мови 英语中的形容词顺序 - 英语语法课程 英語形容詞順序 - 英語文法課

Oh, hello.

I'm Oli.

Welcome to Oxford Online English.

Sorry, I'm just standing here. Entschuldigung, ich stehe hier nur. Извините, я просто стою здесь.

I'm drinking a cup of a strong Italian black coffee. Ich trinke eine Tasse starken italienischen schwarzen Kaffee.

Wait, is it black Italian strong coffee? Warten Sie, ist es schwarzer italienischer starker Kaffee? Подождите, это черный итальянский крепкий кофе?

That doesn't sound right. Это звучит неправильно.

Italian black strong coffee?

Anyway, in this lesson you can learn how to put adjectives in the right order. とにかく、このレッスンでは形容詞の正しい並べ方を学ぶことができる。

Let's go back to the example I was having so many problems with. Gehen wir zurück zu dem Beispiel, mit dem ich so viele Probleme hatte. Вернемся к примеру, с которым у меня было так много проблем.

You want to use the words "coffee," "black," "Italian," and "strong" all together.

They can go in many different orders. Sie können in vielen verschiedenen Reihenfolgen gehen.

Which is correct?

"Strong black Italian coffee," "Strong Italian black coffee," "Black strong Italian coffee,"

"Black Italian strong coffee," "Italian black strong coffee," or "Italian strong black coffee?"

What do you think?

Is there only one possibility, or is there more than one right answer?

Think about it. Подумай об этом.

There is only one possibility, "strong black Italian coffee."

Do you know why this is the right answer?

In English when we use several adjectives before a noun, the adjectives have to go in

a particular order. eine bestimmte Reihenfolge. 特定の順序で。

Of course your meaning will still be clear if you make a mistake with adjective order. Natürlich wird Ihre Bedeutung immer noch klar sein, wenn Sie einen Fehler bei der Adjektivreihenfolge machen. 물론 형용사 순서를 실수하더라도 의미는 여전히 명확합니다. Конечно, ваш смысл будет ясен, если вы ошибетесь с порядком прилагательных.

It's not a big problem.

However, it is very noticeable especially to native speakers if someone makes a mistake

with adjective order. mit Adjektivordnung.

So if you want your English to sound correct and natural, you need to learn how to use

adjectives in the correct order.

Let's start with a simple rule that you can use. Beginnen wir mit einer einfachen Regel, die Sie verwenden können.

Rule number one: opinions go first, facts go second. Regel Nummer eins: Meinungen kommen zuerst, Fakten kommen an zweiter Stelle. Regola numero uno: le opinioni vanno al primo posto, i fatti al secondo. Правило номер один: сначала мнения, потом факты.

The full rules for adjective order, which you'll see in a minute, are complicated and Die vollständigen Regeln für die Reihenfolge der Adjektive, die Sie in einer Minute sehen werden, sind kompliziert und 잠시 후에 보게 될 형용사 순서에 대한 전체 규칙은 복잡합니다. Полные правила порядка прилагательных, которые вы увидите через минуту, сложны и Повні правила порядку прикметників, які ви побачите за хвилину, є складними і

not very practical. nicht sehr praktisch. あまり現実的ではない。

However, there is a simple rule which you can use. Es gibt jedoch eine einfache Regel, die Sie verwenden können.

Adjectives which describe an opinion go before adjectives which describe a fact. 意見を表す形容詞は、事実を表す形容詞の前に置く。 의견을 설명하는 형용사는 사실을 설명하는 형용사보다 먼저 나옵니다.

For example, adjectives like 'nice', 'beautiful', 'useful', or 'delicious' all describe opinions. Zum Beispiel beschreiben Adjektive wie „nett“, „schön“, „nützlich“ oder „lecker“ alle Meinungen. Ad esempio, aggettivi come "simpatico", "bello", "utile" o "delizioso" descrivono tutti opinioni. Например, такие прилагательные, как «приятный», «красивый», «полезный» или «вкусный», описывают мнения.

Just because you describe something as delicious, it doesn't mean that everybody will agree Nur weil Sie etwas als lecker beschreiben, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass alle zustimmen werden 어떤 음식이 맛있다고 묘사한다고 해서 모든 사람이 동의하는 것은 아닙니다. To, że opisujesz coś jako pyszne, nie oznacza, że wszyscy się zgodzą Если вы описываете что-то как вкусное, это не значит, что все с этим согласятся.

with you.

Adjectives like 'big', 'new', 'green', or 'silk' describe facts. Adjektive wie „groß“, „neu“, „grün“ oder „seide“ beschreiben Sachverhalte. Прикметники на кшталт "великий", "новий", "зелений" або "шовковий" описують факти.

Take a second, try to think of some more adjectives which describe opinions or facts. Nehmen Sie sich einen Moment Zeit und versuchen Sie, sich weitere Adjektive auszudenken, die Meinungen oder Fakten beschreiben. 意見や事実を表す形容詞をもう少し考えてみよう。 Потратьте секунду, попытайтесь придумать еще прилагательные, описывающие мнения или факты.

Think about it. Denk darüber nach.

Now let's see our rule in action with some examples. 이제 몇 가지 예를 통해 이 규칙이 실제로 어떻게 적용되는지 살펴보겠습니다.

"They live in a beautiful old house on the edge of the city." "Sie wohnen in einem schönen alten Haus am Stadtrand." "彼らは街のはずれの美しい古い家に住んでいる" "그들은 도시 외곽의 아름다운 오래된 집에 살고 있습니다." «Они живут в красивом старом доме на окраине города».

"We had some delicious Korean food with some friends." "Wir haben mit ein paar Freunden leckeres koreanisches Essen gegessen." "Abbiamo mangiato del delizioso cibo coreano con alcuni amici". "友人たちとおいしい韓国料理を食べた" «У нас была вкусная корейская еда с друзьями».

"Why are you wearing those ugly purple trousers?" "Warum trägst du diese hässliche lila Hose?"

"She has an interesting new perspective on the economic situation." "Sie hat eine interessante neue Perspektive auf die wirtschaftliche Situation." "그녀는 경제 상황에 대한 흥미롭고 새로운 관점을 가지고 있습니다." «У нее интересный новый взгляд на экономическую ситуацию».

In all of these sentences, we used two adjectives before a noun, and you can see that the adjective In all diesen Sätzen haben wir zwei Adjektive vor einem Substantiv verwendet, und Sie können sehen, dass das Adjektiv In tutte queste frasi, abbiamo usato due aggettivi prima di un sostantivo, e si può notare che l'aggettivo

of opinion goes first and the adjective of fact goes second. der Meinung steht an erster Stelle und das Adjektiv der Tatsache an zweiter Stelle.

Rule two: general ideas go before specific ideas. ルール2:具体的なアイデアよりも一般的なアイデアを優先する。 Правило второе: общие идеи предшествуют конкретным идеям.

There's another general rule which works well if you don't know the correct word order. Es gibt eine weitere allgemeine Regel, die gut funktioniert, wenn Sie die richtige Wortstellung nicht kennen. 올바른 어순을 모르는 경우 잘 작동하는 또 다른 일반적인 규칙이 있습니다. Há outra regra geral que funciona bem se não se conhecer a ordem correcta das palavras.

Adjectives which describe a general idea go before adjectives which describe a specific Os adjectivos que descrevem uma ideia geral vão antes dos adjectivos que descrevem uma ideia específica

idea.

For example, if you say, "A long wooden table." Wenn Sie zum Beispiel sagen: „Ein langer Holztisch“. Por exemplo, se disser: "Uma mesa longa de madeira".

The word 'long' is more general.

Many things can be long in many different ways. 많은 일이 여러 가지 방식으로 길어질 수 있습니다. Многие вещи могут быть длинными по-разному.

A street can be long, a story, or a speech can be long. Eine Straße kann lang sein, eine Geschichte oder eine Rede kann lang sein. Uma rua pode ser longa, uma história, ou um discurso pode ser longo.

You can have a long day and so on. Sie können einen langen Tag haben und so weiter.

'Wooden' is more specific. A "Madeira" é mais específica.

Generally speaking, something can only be wooden if it's actually made of wood. Generell kann nur etwas aus Holz sein, was auch wirklich aus Holz ist. De um modo geral, algo só pode ser de madeira se for realmente feito de madeira. Вообще говоря, что-то может быть деревянным, только если оно действительно сделано из дерева.

So we put 'long' first and we say, "A long wooden table." Por isso pomos 'longo' em primeiro lugar e dizemos: "Uma longa mesa de madeira".

Can you think of any other adjectives which have a general meaning? Fallen dir noch andere Adjektive ein, die eine allgemeine Bedeutung haben? Consegue pensar em quaisquer outros adjectivos que tenham um significado geral?

Adjectives like 'old', 'hot', or 'small' all have a general meaning because they can be '오래된', '뜨거운', '작은'과 같은 형용사는 모두 다음과 같은 일반적인 의미를 갖습니다. Adjetivos como "velho", "quente", ou "pequeno" têm todos um significado geral porque podem ser

used with many different meanings to describe many different things.

On the other hand, adjectives like 'green', 'French' or 'straight' are more specific. Spezifischer sind dagegen Adjektive wie „grün“, „französisch“ oder „gerade“. Por outro lado, adjectivos como "verde", "francês" ou "heterossexual" são mais específicos. С другой стороны, такие прилагательные, как «зеленый», «французский» или «прямой», более конкретны.

If something is green, that's quite a specific idea. Wenn etwas grün ist, ist das eine ziemlich spezifische Vorstellung. Se algo é verde, essa é uma ideia bastante específica.

Okay, let's see this rule in action with some examples. Okay, sehen wir uns diese Regel anhand einiger Beispiele in Aktion an. Muito bem, vamos ver esta regra em acção com alguns exemplos.

"He works for a small Canadian company." "Ele trabalha para uma pequena empresa canadiana".

"I love these old black-and-white films." "Ich liebe diese alten Schwarz-Weiß-Filme." "Adoro estes velhos filmes a preto-e-branco".

"We bought a new leather sofa for the living room." "Wir haben ein neues Ledersofa für das Wohnzimmer gekauft." "Ми купили новий шкіряний диван у вітальню". “我們為客廳買了一張新皮沙發。”

"I need to buy a really warm woolly hat." "Ich muss mir eine richtig warme Wollmütze kaufen." "Preciso de comprar um chapéu de lã realmente quente". "Мені потрібно купити дуже теплу вовняну шапку". “我需要買一頂非常溫暖的羊毛帽子。”

Again, we used two adjectives with each noun. Auch hier haben wir für jedes Substantiv zwei Adjektive verwendet. Mais uma vez, utilizámos dois adjectivos com cada substantivo.

In each case, the adjective with a more general meaning goes first, and the adjective with

a more specific meaning goes second.

Okay, point three, let's look at the full rule. Okay, Punkt drei, schauen wir uns die vollständige Regel an. Muito bem, ponto três, vejamos a regra completa.

We said before that the full rule for adjective order is quite complicated. Wir haben bereits gesagt, dass die vollständige Regel für die Reihenfolge der Adjektive ziemlich kompliziert ist. 앞서 형용사 순서에 대한 전체 규칙이 상당히 복잡하다고 말씀드렸습니다.

I'm showing you just for your interest. Ich zeige es Ihnen nur für Ihr Interesse. 興味本位でお見せしているだけです。 관심을 가져주셔서 보여드리는 것입니다. Estou a mostrar-vos apenas pelo vosso interesse. Я показываю вам просто для вашего интереса.

Are you ready? Está pronto?

The full rule is: opinion, size, other qualities, age, colour or pattern, nationality and the Die vollständige Regel lautet: Meinung, Größe, andere Eigenschaften, Alter, Farbe oder Muster, Nationalität und dann 完整的規則是:意見、尺寸、其他品質、年齡、顏色或圖案、國籍,然後

material. material.

Okay?

So we could say for example, "She bought a beautiful long warm new black-and-white striped So könnten wir zum Beispiel sagen: „Sie hat sich ein wunderschönes langes warmes neues schwarz-weiß gestreiftes Kleid gekauft Assim poderíamos dizer, por exemplo, "Ela comprou uma linda listrada nova, longa e quente, a preto e branco 所以我們可以說,例如,「她買了一件漂亮的長溫暖的新黑白條紋衣服

Italian silk scarf." Italienischer Seidenschal."

We have opinion, 'beautiful'; the size, 'long'; another quality, 'warm'; an age, 'new'; a Wir haben die Meinung, „schön“; die Größe, 'lang'; eine andere Qualität, „warm“; ein Zeitalter, „neu“; a

color, 'black-and-white'; a pattern, 'striped'; nationality, 'Italian'; and the material,

'silk'.

So, do you need to know this rule? Müssen Sie diese Regel also kennen?

No, not really. Não, nem por isso.

First of all, it's too complicated. Primeiro que tudo, é demasiado complicado.

You can't carry this around in your head and use it when you speak. Não pode carregar isto na sua cabeça e usá-lo quando fala.

Secondly, it's very rare that we use more than two or three adjectives with a noun; Zweitens verwenden wir sehr selten mehr als zwei oder drei Adjektive mit einem Substantiv;

it almost never happens. es passiert fast nie. isso quase nunca acontece.

And three, native speakers don't always follow these rules, especially when there are more E três, os falantes nativos nem sempre seguem estas regras, especialmente quando há mais

than two or three adjectives.

So it doesn't matter so much what you do in those cases. Es spielt also keine so große Rolle, was Sie in diesen Fällen tun. Portanto, não importa tanto o que se faz nesses casos.

However, this doesn't mean that adjective order doesn't matter, it does. Dies bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass die Reihenfolge der Adjektive keine Rolle spielt, sie tut es. No entanto, isto não significa que a ordem dos adjectivos não importa, ela importa.

If you make a mistake like, "She has black straight short hair," this sounds a bit strange, Wenn Sie einen Fehler machen wie: „Sie hat schwarzes, glattes, kurzes Haar“, klingt das etwas seltsam,

a bit wrong, and native speakers will hear and notice mistakes like these. etwas falsch, und Muttersprachler werden solche Fehler hören und bemerken. um pouco errado, e os falantes nativos irão ouvir e reparar em erros como estes. немного неправильно, и носители языка услышат и заметят подобные ошибки.

Okay, part four, let's look at some advice you can use, and let's review what we've talked Okay, Teil vier, schauen wir uns einige Ratschläge an, die Sie verwenden können, und lassen Sie uns wiederholen, was wir besprochen haben Muito bem, quarta parte, vamos ver alguns conselhos que pode usar, e vamos rever o que já falámos

about.

Point one: trust your instinct. Punkt eins: Vertrauen Sie Ihrem Instinkt. Ponto um: confie no seu instinto. 第一點:相信你的直覺。

If it sounds right, it probably is. Wenn es richtig klingt, ist es das wahrscheinlich auch. Se soa bem, provavelmente é. Если это звучит правильно, вероятно, так оно и есть.

If it sounds wrong, it probably is. Se parecer errado, provavelmente é.

Point two: remember the basic rules: general before specific, opinion before fact. Punkt zwei: Denken Sie an die Grundregeln: Allgemein vor Spezifisch, Meinung vor Tatsache.

These rules can help you in most of the situations you will meet in everyday speaking. Diese Regeln können Ihnen in den meisten Situationen helfen, denen Sie im täglichen Sprechen begegnen werden. 이러한 규칙은 일상적인 말하기에서 마주하게 되는 대부분의 상황에서 도움이 될 수 있습니다. Estas regras podem ajudá-lo na maioria das situações em que se vai encontrar no dia-a-dia. Эти правила могут помочь вам в большинстве ситуаций, с которыми вы столкнетесь в повседневной речи.

That's the end of the lesson. É o fim da lição.

Thanks very much for watching. Muito obrigado por assistir.

I hope you found it useful. Espero que o tenha achado útil.

Do you want some more practice with this? Quer mais alguma prática com isto?

Well, check out the full version of the lesson on our website, oxfordonlineenglish.com.

You can also see many other free English lessons.

That's all for today. É tudo por hoje.

Thanks again! Mais uma vez obrigado!

I'll see you next time. Vemo-nos da próxima vez.

Bye-bye!