Order of adjectives in your language?
By urbandekay
@urbandekay (18278)
March 15, 2008 4:16am CST
In English adjectives occur before the noun they describe and are put in a certain order,
Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material and purpose
So
Fine, large, old, sleek, red, Spanish, leather, riding boots
In Portuguese this order is reversed and occurs after the noun
bota espanhola de couro vermelha lustrosa, velha, longa e fina
What about your language, is there a different order? Do the adjectives come before or after the noun?
all the best urban
4 responses
@mcrowl (1050)
• New Zealand
16 Mar 08
I can't help myself. Have to respond to this. What grammar book have you been reading that tells you all this stuff about the order of adjectives? Firstly, adjectives don't always go before the noun in English (especially in poetry and in some literary prose), and who's going sit down and think their way through a list of adjectives in order to put them in the right order when speaking, let alone when writing.
Piffle, I say!
@urbandekay (18278)
•
16 Mar 08
Ok, how do these sound:
A German, small town - hmmmm very odd
a leather brown jacker -errr no
riding leather boots - hehehehehe
Come on, they just sound odd, don't they?
all the best urban
1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
•
16 Mar 08
He he he he he, now where did you get the idea this was about grammar?It's more like a convention of style. Of course no one is going to sit down and think their way though such and nor do I. Like any good rule there are plenty of exceptions but I do tend to use them in that order without thinking about it. It just sounds right that way to English ears. Of course, I hear you don't always dress for dinner either in the colonies! hehehehehe
all the best urban
1 person likes this
@betsyraeduke (2669)
• United States
15 Mar 08
I can't remember ever being taught this. I think it's a silly, overly picky rule that serves no useful purpose. 
@urbandekay (18278)
•
15 Mar 08
Well, I'm talking about English here, not Americanese! Two purposes for this convention, are, avoidance of ambiguity that could occur in complex sentences and elegance of the language, perhaps it is no surprise you can see no point in these!
all the best urban
.....I didn't mean it that way! I was only teasing. 
@urbandekay (18278)
•
15 Mar 08
So, then here we have a perfect example of the importance of clarity of expression, to avoid such misunderstandings of expression!
all the best urban
@headhunter525 (3548)
• India
15 Mar 08
In my language most of the adjectives can be added either way: before or after the noun. But there are certain adjectives that can be added only before the noun, and some only after the noun.
I have women who married into my community say that our language is very difficult. I think they are right. And I think it is difficult to pronounce too.
for example, we spell 'water' as 'dzii', or 'mother' as 'pfii'.
@urbandekay (18278)
•
15 Mar 08
Well, how might you say this sentence in your language?
Fine, large, old, sleek, red, Spanish, leather, riding boots
If you can write that in your language you can see which order the adjectives are in.
all the best urban
