Order of Adjectives

Adjective_Order

Believe it or not, there is an appropriate order to writing a string of adjectives in a sentence. Most native English language writers take this order for granted, picking it up while learning to talk.

Examples: He’s a smart young man. She’s an elegant energetic woman.

However, sometimes there are questions about the “best” order.

OSASCOMP

The most effective order of adjectives is easy to remember using the acronym OSASCOMP, which stands for Opinion Size Age Shape Color Origin Material Purpose. Here are the definitions and some examples.

  • Opinion, including judgments and attitudes—what the speaker or writer thinks about the modified noun (e.g., pretty, funny, perfect, cheap, challenging)
  • Size, including length, height, weight of the modified noun (e.g., large, long, tall, heavy)
  • Age—how old the modified noun is (e.g., young, old, new, ancient, modern, fresh)
  • Shape—the physical form or outline of the modified noun (e.g., round, square, flat)
  • Color of the modified noun (e.g., black, white, lavender, reddish)
  • Origin—where the modified noun comes from (e.g., American, European, Asian, western, solar)
  • Material—what the modified noun is made of (e.g., wooden, leather, paper, plastic)
  • Purpose—what the modified noun is used for (a noun or verb often ending in -ing) (e.g., sport, as in a sport bike; sewing, as in a sewing machine)

Here are some examples:

Original Order:

A blue cheap small car [Color Opinion Size]
Long-stemmed fresh flowers [Shape Age]
The Turkish old rug [Origin Age]
Granite gray counter [Material Color]
Wool white sweater [Material Color]

OSASCOMP Order:

A cheap small blue car. [Opinion Size Color]
Fresh long-stemmed flowers. [Age Shape]
The old Turkish rug [Age Origin]
Gray granite counter [Color Material]
White wool sweater [Color Material]

Comments

This is only one guideline, though it seems to be the most popular. And there is some flexibility, depending on the sense and emphasis the writer wants to communicate.

It’s not likely that an English sentence will contain all eight adjectives; three seems to be a good upper limit.

Conclusion

Remember, when writing a string of adjective use OSASCOMP to put them in the most effective and harmonious order.

Copyright © 2016 by Affordable Editing Services

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