Why does it matter what order adjectives are in?

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Why does it matter what order adjectives are in?

"Let's get cozy on the comfortable, big, old sofa and watch a movie." Why does that sentence sound so weird? That's the importance of adjective order at work.

S ome rules (both official and unspoken) prevent our lives from descending into confusion and chaos. For example: following the PEMDAS mnemonic for the mathematical order of operations, waiting patiently until your number is called at the bakery, and knowing when to merge into traffic without causing an accident. Rules are also important in grammar, especially when using multiple adjectives to describe a single noun. There's an order to these adjectives, and following it will make your sentences as clear and concise as possible.

Imagine someone walking up to a takeout counter and ordering "a pepperoni, delicious, extra-large pizza." Sounds awkward, doesn't it? That's because if you're using multiple adjectives, they must be in a specific sequence. The order starts with personal opinion ("amazing," "worst," etc.). After that are factual descriptions, in this order: size ("large," "small"), physical quality ("thick," "thin"), shape ("circular," "triangular"), age ("new," "ancient"), color ("red," "blue"), origin ("Spanish," "French"), material ("wooden," "metallic"), type ("three-sided," "electric"), and lastly, purpose ("cooking," "gardening").

Don't worry about memorizing this adjective order. Most native English speakers learn the order based on common speech patterns, and you'll almost never use all of these adjective types together (unless you're feeling particularly verbose). It's one of those things that are picked up naturally based on common speech patterns.

All 10 distinct adjective types aren't required in a sentence; choose however many you want, but stick to the correct order. For instance, you might describe a spatula as a "red, plastic, cooking tool," or refer to your car as an "amazing, new, red, four-door sedan." There's another set of rules regarding when to put commas between adjectives and when to leave them off, but we'll save that for a later edition.

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