English adjectives & what order to use them

Speaking English without adjectives is like painting with no colors — you can do it, but filling your sentences with adjectives and your paintings with color is much more fun!

Adjectives are a massively important part of virtually every language on Earth, and English is no exception. In fact, you probably already have an idea of what adjectives are, but they’re much more prevalent in everyday conversations than you may realize.

As you might already know, adjectives help us modify nouns. However, they also help us keep track of the nouns that we’re talking about. With eight different types of adjectives, we use them for a wide variety of purposes, such as to show relations, quantity, possession, and much, much more. Without adjectives, it would be extremely difficult to figure out what’s being discussed at any moment.

So, let’s get started from the very basics, and we’ll cover what an adjective is and what each type of adjective does. Oh, and if you’re looking for some examples, we’ve included a list of over 1000 unique adjectives below to help you create precise, exciting, knowledgeable, intellectual, and fun sentences!

What are adjectives?

Adjectives are words that help us describe a noun or pronoun. They help us easily specify certain attributes of a person, thing, or place so we can communicate flawlessly. For example, take a look at the following sentences, and let us know which one you think is more complete:

• Why don’t you wear your beautiful pink little dress?
• Why don’t you wear a dress?

See how adjectives can completely transform the meaning of a sentence?

Types of adjectives

The most common types of adjectives are descriptive adjectives. However, there are seven other important types of adjectives that help us keep things moving. While not as prominent as the descriptive ones, these other types of adjectives are critical as they help us navigate complex situations successfully.

Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of adjectives. These help us describe the characteristics of the nouns that we are talking about so we can be more specific.

Numeral adjectives

Numeral adjectives indicate quantity, fraction, and sequence in nouns. English numbers can act as adjectives when you are describing nouns that come in pairs or about a specific number of items.

Quantitative adjectives

Adjectives of quantity are very similar to numeral adjectives, except that they’re used with nouns that are uncountable. For example, you would say “I would like three cookies” (numeral adjective) but you would say “I would like some ice cream” (quantitative adjective). As a quick rule of thumb, they answer the question “how much of it?” while numerical adjectives answer the question “how many?”

Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to demonstrate the relative position of something with the speaker. For example, objects that are close to you use the adjectives “this” and “these,” while objects that are far from you use the adjectives “that” and “those.”

Interrogative adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are question words that modify a verb. Use them when you’re trying to gather information about a noun that you’re not entirely familiar with.

Possessive adjectives

As you can probably guess, possessive adjectives help establish ownership over a particular noun. They’re quick ways for us to establish who something belongs to without having to spell out an entire sentence explaining ownership.

Proper adjectives

Proper adjectives help describe proper nouns, including people, countries, and places. Since they are based on proper nouns, they need to be capitalized as well.

Exclamatory adjectives

Exclamatory adjectives are used in exclamation sentences to convey a sense of excitement or surprise. Although they use the same words as the interrogative adjectives above, the exclamation mark will let you know that these adjectives are just there to add emphasis to the noun.

How to use adjectives in English

Adjectives are used along with nouns and pronouns to describe them. As such, you need to think carefully about the noun or pronoun you’re trying to modify before you decide where to place your adjective.

Most adjectives are placed before the noun, following this pattern:

Adjective + Noun

Here are some examples:

Nouns involving a verb, however, follow a different pattern:

Noun + Verb + Adjective

Use this pattern when you’re describing what a noun is or when describing how something does a certain action. Here are some examples:

What is the correct order of English adjectives?

If there’s more than one adjective in a sentence, then you also have to consider the placement of the adjective within your list of adjectives. Here’s the order you need to follow:

Opinion → Size → Temperature → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material

Here are some examples of the correct English adjective order in action:

Top adjectives in English list

Now that you’ve got the basics of English adjectives down, let’s dive into a gigantic list of 1000+ adjectives! We’ve broken it down into sections for different uses of each adjective to help you find the right adjective for your needs.

Adjectives for people

Adjectives for feelings and emotion

Adjectives for physical appearance

Adjectives for shapes and sizes

Adjectives for colors

Adjectives for quality

Adjectives for time and frequency

Adjectives for food

Adjectives for sounds

Adjectives for surfaces and touch

Adjectives for smells and sensations

Adjectives for the weather

Adjectives for location

Adjectives for other characteristics

FAQs about English adjectives

How do you make adjectives plural?

English adjectives don’t have a plural or singular form, so they stay the same regardless of the quantity of the noun they are modifying. However, adjectives can also be used as nouns, in which case they follow ordinary pluralization rules. For example, you could say “two blonde men” or “two blondes.”

Which adjectives change form in English?

Unlike French or Spanish, adjectives in English are invariable, meaning that they never change form to agree with the noun or pronoun they are modifying. If you’re used to speaking one of these Romance languages, rest assured that you don’t have to worry about coordinating the adjective with the noun in English!

How do you form comparative adjectives?

Comparative adjectives are used to compare the qualities of exactly two objects or groups of objects. This is helpful when you want to say that one object is more something or less something than another object. To form a comparative adjective, follow these rules:

• One syllable adjectives: Add -er at the end of the adjective, such as big → bigger, tall → taller.
• Two-syllable adjectives: Most two-syllable adjectives can also use the comparative form with an -er ending, although some of them do not work with the suffix. Instead, you’ll have to add “more” or “less” before the adjective, depending on what you’re trying to convey.
• Three or more syllables: All adjectives with three or more syllables use “more” before the adjective to express comparison.
• Irregular adjectives. Some adjectives change to completely different forms when used in a comparative sentence, such as good → better, bad → worse, far → further.

Here are some examples to give you a better idea:

How do you form superlative adjectives?

Superlative adjectives help us point out one noun that is the most something from a group. For example, the sharpest tool in the shed, the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and so on. To create a superlative, follow these rules:

• One syllable adjectives: Add -est at the end of the adjective, such as big → biggest, tall → tallest.
• Two-syllable adjectives: Most two-syllable adjectives also use the superlative suffix of -est, although many of them don’t work with the suffix. Instead, use “most” or “least” in front of the adjective.
• Three or more syllables: Adjectives with three or more syllables use “most” or “least” before the adjective.
• Irregular adjectives. Some adjectives need to be changed to a different form when used in a superlative structure, such as good → best, bad → worst, far → furthest.

Here are some example sentences:

How to add emphasis to English adjectives

You can also add emphasis to an adjective by using adverbs of degree. As implied by their name, they offer varying degrees of intensity so you can add just enough emphasis to your adjectives. Here are some examples:

• Very
• Really
• Extremely
• Simply
• Absolutely
• Definitely
• Positively
• Clearly
• Naturally
• Obviously
• Undoubtedly

Here are some example sentences:

Do multiple adjectives go with commas in between?

Two or more adjectives go with commas when they are modifying the same characteristic of the same noun or pronoun. For example, “The red, white, and blue flag of the USA.” However, they don’t go with commas when the adjectives are modifying different aspects of a verb, such as “Can I have some more of that delicious vintage French wine?”

Use your new adjectives to paint the brightest stories!

Now that you’ve got over 1000 new adjectives under your belt, you can easily tell some of your most exciting stories! Plus, you’ve also learned how to use adjectives to form comparative and superlative sentence structures, as well as how to use adverbs to add emphasis to your adjectives.

If you enjoyed this article and feel like you’ve learned some valuable new grammar tools, make sure to check out our English blog. We publish free, fun, and informative grammar and vocabulary articles every month to help you progress in your English-learning journey!