An adjective, or adj., is one of the major Word classes in English,(The Handbook of English Linguistics, p. 105) along with being one of the main Content words.(The Handbook of English Linguistics, p. 15) Its purpose is to add a modifier to a noun to give it more context and understanding,(A dictionary of grammatical terms in linguistics, p. 8) and includes words like “big” and “beautiful.”(Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, p. 5) The etymology of the word originates from Latin as adjectīvus.(Perseus Digital Library) (Online Etymology Dictionary)
When used, they have a specific order when they are written or spoken to describe nouns.
| Order Priority | Relating to | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | opinion | unusual, lovely, beautiful |
| 2 | size | big, small, tall |
| 3 | physical quality | thin, rough, untidy |
| 4 | shape | round, square, rectangular |
| 5 | age | young, old, youthful |
| 6 | color | blue, red, pink |
| 7 | origin | Dutch, Japanese, Turkish |
| 8 | material | metal, wood, plastic |
| 9 | type | general-purpose, four-sided, U-shaped |
| 10 | purpose | cleaning, hammering, cooking |
| (Cambridge Dictionary) |