Grammar basics
Descriptive adjectives
A descriptive adjective tells you what something is like: its size, color, age, shape or quality. Most adjectives are this kind.
Kinds of description
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Opinion | nice, beautiful, boring |
| Size | big, small, long |
| Age | new, old, young |
| Color | blue, red, black |
| Origin | Thai, Japanese, American |
| Feeling and temperature | happy, hot, cold |
More than one adjective
When you use two or more adjectives, put them in this order:
opinion → size → age → color → origin → noun
I ate at a nice small Thai restaurant.
Don't worry about the order too much
In real life, people rarely use more than two adjectives together. Remember a few common pairs, like a nice new laptop or a big black dog.
Big
Large in size.
Bangkok is a big city.
Small
Little in size.
I live in a small apartment.
New
Made or bought a short time ago.
I just bought a new keyboard.
Old
Made a long time ago, or not young.
My old laptop still works.
Hot
Very warm.
Thailand is hot all year.
Blue
The color of the sky on a clear day.
The sky is very blue today.