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I would like to as about adjectives order.

As I understand there is a rule for adjective order in adj adj noun.

Here is my understanding: Opinion>Size>Shape>Age>Color>Nationality/Origin>Material>Purpose

I got it for size - purpose adjectives. But what about opinion?

Does adjective like "hungry", "curious", "playful", "crazy" categorized as opinion?

Sorry if this sounds like very basic question.

Thanks in advance mate!

iwantolearn
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  • You would say "a large hungry cat", and not "a hungry large cat", so maybe not. See Ngram for confirmation. Things like "hungry" seem to fall under "human propensity" in the post linked in the comment above, which goes between shape and age. – Peter Shor May 15 '16 at 12:11
  • The answers to the duplicate question aren't satisfactory for this question. Most of the answers don't even include the proper category, and the one that does labels it "human propensity," which isn't very clear. – Peter Shor May 15 '16 at 12:26
  • This is a question about idiomatic usage, not "rules" of any substance. The above ordering (and similar ones) will produce a sentence that sounds idiomatic most of the time, but there are many cases where rigid adherence to the ordering will lead you astray. – Hot Licks May 15 '16 at 12:44
  • It can also depend simply on which characteristic you particularly want to emphasise at the time. – TrevorD May 15 '16 at 12:48
  • For example I want to say a big cat being curious. The cat is big and the cat is curious. Should I go with "a big curious cat" or "a curious big cat"? – iwantolearn May 15 '16 at 13:16
  • A curious big cat: you think the cat is unusual. A big curious cat: the cat is inquisitive. But these rules don't all have the same strength. So while a black old dog sounds horrible to me, an inquisitive large cat only sounds somewhat odd. – Peter Shor May 15 '16 at 13:52
  • @iwantolearn - The problem with "curious" is that it has two possible meanings in the sentence you propose -- it either means the cat exhibits curiosity or that the cat is rather strange. If you put "curious" first, before other adjectives, the implication is that the cat is strange. Put it last, though, and you imply that the cat exhibits curiosity. – Hot Licks May 16 '16 at 01:40
  • Thank you for the explanation, both PeterShor and HotLicks. – iwantolearn May 17 '16 at 16:13

1 Answers1

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Yes, there is a correct word order for adjectives. Hunger is not an opinion. It is a state. A feeling. A sad hungry Man.For grammar purpuses it is an adjective of Quality. Adjectives of quality can be placed after the verbs. The man seemed tired and hungry.

or The tall tired hungry man climbed the massive mountain. The clever curious cat found a mouse. That cat is curious. That is a demonstrative adjective followed by noun verb adjective. Just to show you a change in word order. Normal word order is opinion, size,physical Quality,shape,age,colour,origin,material,type and purpose.

Your question should be written in the following way.

Do Adjectives ..... not Does Adjectives.... Because you need the plural form Playful, crazy and curious are adjectives of quality.

pam
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  • Hi Pam, thanks for the explanation!

    Could you give more explanation or example? Especially for opinion and physical quality adjectives.

    Thanks!

     – iwantolearn May 15 '16 at 13:19
  • Here's a video that goes over adjective order and exceptions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTm1tJYr5_M – Chris Bergin May 15 '16 at 13:57