Order of Adjectives Worksheets - 15 Worksheets Library - Free Printable

Let's solve this "Order of Adjectives" worksheet step by step.

🔹 What is the Order of Adjectives?

In English, adjectives follow a specific order when multiple adjectives are used before a noun. The standard order is:

1. Opinion (e.g., silly, beautiful, ugly)
2. Size (e.g., big, small, tiny)
3. Age (e.g., old, young, new)
4. Shape (e.g., round, square, bent)
5. Color (e.g., blue, red, green)
6. Origin (e.g., British, French, American)
7. Material (e.g., wooden, silk, woven)
8. Purpose/Use (e.g., cooking, sleeping, admissions)

> Remember the mnemonic: OSSACOMP
> - Opinion – Size – Age – Shape – Color – Origin – Material – Purpose

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Now, let’s go through each question and determine which group of words follows the correct adjective order.

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✔ 1. silly three animals vs three silly animals

- "silly" = opinion
- "three" = quantity (number)
- Numbers come before opinion adjectives.
- Correct order: three silly animals
✔ Answer: three silly animals

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✔ 2. long hot summer vs hot long summer

- "long" = size
- "hot" = opinion
- Opinion comes before size
- So: hot long summer is correct
✔ Answer: hot long summer

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✔ 3. old bent tin can vs tin old bent can

- "old" = age
- "bent" = shape
- "tin" = material
- Order: age → shape → material → noun
- So: old bent tin can
✔ Answer: old bent tin can

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✔ 4. baggy blue jeans vs blue baggy jeans

- "baggy" = size
- "blue" = color
- Size comes before color
- So: baggy blue jeans
✔ Answer: baggy blue jeans

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✔ 5. older attractive man vs attractive older man

- "older" = age (comparative)
- "attractive" = opinion
- Opinion comes before age
- So: attractive older man
✔ Answer: attractive older man

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✔ 6. rice woven basket vs woven nice basket

- "rice" = origin? Or material? Actually, “rice” here likely refers to material (rice straw)
- "woven" = material or texture? But "woven" describes how it's made → material
- But “rice” is more specific than “woven”
- However, “woven” is an adjective describing the process; “rice” indicates the type
- Actually, “rice” is origin, and “woven” is material or texture
- But in practice, “rice” as in “rice paper” or “rice straw” is material
- So: woven rice basket would be better
- But neither option says that
- Let’s look:
- Option A: rice woven basket → material + material? Doesn’t make sense
- Option B: woven nice basket → material + opinion
- But “nice” is opinion, so should come first
- Neither seems perfect, but rice woven basket implies “a basket made from woven rice” — plausible
- But woven rice basket would be better
- Wait — the options are:
- rice woven basket
- woven nice basket
- "woven nice basket" has "nice" (opinion) after "woven" (material), which is wrong
- "rice woven basket" — “rice” could be origin or material, but “woven” is a process
- In English, we say woven rice basket (material + purpose?), but actually, it's often rice-woven basket
- But since the choices are limited, rice woven basket might be acceptable
- However, “nice” is opinion — it should come first
- So woven nice basket is incorrect because opinion comes before material
- Therefore, rice woven basket is better, even if awkward
- But wait — “rice” isn’t really an adjective here; maybe it’s a noun
- Actually, “rice” as an adjective means “made of rice” — so it’s material
- So order: woven rice basket — but that’s not an option
- Only options:
- rice woven basket
- woven nice basket
- “woven nice basket” has “nice” (opinion) after “woven” (material) → wrong
- “rice woven basket” — “rice” (material), “woven” (process) — but both are material-related
- In real usage, we say “rice-woven basket” — so “rice” comes first
- So rice woven basket is acceptable
✔ Answer: rice woven basket

> Note: This one is tricky. But since “nice” is opinion and appears second, it breaks the rule. So rice woven basket is better.

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✔ 7. small empty box vs empty small box

- "small" = size
- "empty" = state (not a standard adjective class, but usually placed after size)
- In general, size comes before condition/state
- So: small empty box
✔ Answer: small empty box

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✔ 8. friendly British guy vs British friendly guy

- "friendly" = opinion
- "British" = origin
- Opinion comes before origin
- So: friendly British guy
✔ Answer: friendly British guy

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✔ 9. big old boots vs old big boots

- "big" = size
- "old" = age
- Size comes before age
- So: big old boots
✔ Answer: big old boots

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✔ 10. admissions difficult test vs difficult admissions test

- "admissions" = purpose (used for admissions)
- "difficult" = opinion
- Opinion comes before purpose
- So: difficult admissions test
✔ Answer: difficult admissions test

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✔ Final Answers:

| # | Correct Answer |
|---|----------------|
| 1 | three silly animals |
| 2 | hot long summer |
| 3 | old bent tin can |
| 4 | baggy blue jeans |
| 5 | attractive older man |
| 6 | rice woven basket |
| 7 | small empty box |
| 8 | friendly British guy |
| 9 | big old boots |
|10 | difficult admissions test |

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📝 Summary of Rules Used:

- Opinion before size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose
- Size before age, shape, etc.
- Age before shape, color, etc.
- Origin before material
- Material before purpose
- Purpose last

This helps ensure natural-sounding English.

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