Word Order

The main way of describing a noun is to use adjectives or words that are like adjectives. You add these words after a, the, my, her etc, before the noun. You can add as many as you want, but you sometimes need to be careful about the order in which you use them.

You have a choice of three kinds of word.
The largest group consists of adjectives.
a lovely day a small round table the best book

You may also use a ‘participle’ before the noun, the “ing” or “ed” form of a verb,
but here used to describe the noun.

a crumbling table her smiling face a cracked window the stolen car

You may also add one noun before another ‑ the first noun is used to describe the second noun, which is the main noun in the phrase.
the school boy a tourist attraction a Brisbane bus

WHICH ORDER?
As soon as you use two or more describing words, you have to decide which order to put them in.
In many cases, there is no rule: you simply say first what comes into your mind first. But many adjectives, and the other kinds of describing word, are typically used in a particular place before the noun.

You should think of these patterns only as a guide to help you, because there are a number of cases which do not follow the rule. But the following patterns are common:

1. Nouns go next to the main noun in the phrase, after any other adjectives.
Examples: a big London bus (NOT) a London big bus
the long country road (NOT) the country long road

2. Words which are closely related to nouns, such as the material something is made of or where something is from, also go next to the main noun.
For example: big leather boots (NOT) leather big boots
a serious social problem (NOT) a social serious problem

3. Participles usually go in front of groups (1) and (2).
a broken garden chair (NOT) a garden broken chair
a smiling American tourist ( NOT) an American smiling tourist
a happy smiling American tourist (NOT) a smiling happy American tourist

4. Adjectives with an ‘intensifying’ meaning, for example entire, whole, same go near the beginning, close to a, the, my, her etc.
the entire local committee (NOT) the local entire committee
the same old battered car (NOT) the old battered same car

5. Other adjectives follow (4) and go before (3). Those with a more general meaning usually come first, and those which describe properties of the noun which can be clearly seen, such as size and shape, usually come last. There are typical patterns here, too, as the table shows.
those lovely red curtains (NOT) those red lovely curtains
a strange triangular table (NOT) a triangular strange table

your opinion about s’th size age shape colour (where s’th is from) material
lovely big old round black American wool
beautiful little young square red French plastic
horrible small new round brown Japanese leather

WORD ORDER AFTER THE NOUN
Some adverbs of time and frequency usually come immediately after the main verb. These include:
always, almost, just, rarely, nearly, already, ever, never, still
She is always complaining. (NOT) Always she is complaining.
They are still working. (NOT) Still they are working.

Always and never are sometimes used at the beginning of a sentence in instructions and warnings, when the verb does not have a subject.
Always keep medicines away from children.
Never look directly at the sun through a telescope.

Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between the verb and the object.
I like Japanese food very much. (NOT) I like very much Japanese food.
Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between a main verb and an ‑ing participle, or between a main verb and an infinitive.
Tomorrow we’ll go sightseeing. (NOT) We’ll go tomorrow sightseeing.
In the evenings she likes to watch television. (NOT) She likes in the evenings to watch television.
Adverbs and adverbial phrases should not come between a modal verb (for example can, must, could) and a main verb.
I can speak Spanish quite well. (NOT) I can quite well speak Spanish