Basic adjectives and word order

What you'll learn

An adjective gives more information about a noun: a blue bag, an old house or three small boxes.

At A1, use this simple order:

determiner/possessive + number + adjective + noun

You do not need every part every time.

Start with these examples

• a small room
• my new phone
• these red shoes
• two old books
• The books are old.

The basic order

Article + adjective + noun

• a clean shirt
• an interesting film
• the blue door

Possessive + adjective + noun

• my black jacket
• her new bike
• our small flat

Number + adjective + plural noun

• two red cars
• three big bags
• five old photos

Demonstrative + adjective + noun

• this small table
• that green bag
• these white shoes
• those old houses

Adjectives after be

When you describe the subject, put the adjective after be.

• The room is small.
• My shoes are wet.
• The film is funny.

Common mistakes

• a house big → a big house
• two reds cars → two red cars
• I have new phone. → I have a new phone.
• new my phone → my new phone

Keep it simple

Do not try to learn a long adjective order now. At this level, put one or two common adjectives before the noun.

• a small white dog
• a new red bag

Quick check

Choose the correct phrase:

• my old bike / old my bike
• three small cats / three small cat
• these blue boxes / blue these boxes

Next step

Articles such as a, an and the are an important part of a noun phrase.