Adjectives Order in English

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When two or more adjectives come before a noun, their relative order is fixed to a certain degree. This means, for instance, that while complex mathematical studies is grammatically acceptable, mathematical complex studies is less so. Similarly: a huge red bomber ~*a red huge bomber a long narrow road ~*a narrow long road the lovely little black Japanese box ~*the Japanese black little lovely box Here we will discuss some of the most common sequences which occur, though these should not be seen as ordering rules. Counter examples can often be found quite easily. Central adjectives, as we saw earlier, are adjectives which fulfil all the criteria for the adjective class. In this sense, they are more "adjectival" than, say, denominal adjectives, which also have some of the properties of nouns. This distinction has some significance in the ordering of adjectives. In general, the more adjectival a word is, the farther from the noun it will be. Conversely, the less adjectival it is (the more nominal), the nearer to the noun it will be. The relative order of these adjective types, then, is: Sequence (1): CENTRAL -- DENOMINAL -- NOUN This is the ordering found in complex mathematical studies, for instance, and also in the following examples: expensive Russian dolls heavy woollen clothes huge polar bears Colour adjectives are also central adjectives, but if they co-occur with another central adjective, they come after it: Sequence (2): CENTRAL -- COLOUR -- NOUN expensive green dolls heavy black clothes huge white bears and before denominal adjectives: Sequence (3): COLOUR -- DENOMINAL -- NOUN green Russian dolls black woollen clothes white polar bears Participial adjectives also follow central adjectives: Sequence (4): CENTRAL -- PARTICIPIAL -- DENOMINAL -- NOUN

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