The order of adjectives in the sentence

When more than one adjective is used before a noun, the norm is to place the more precise adjective near the noun. However, sometimes it is not easy to decide which adjective it is. This is the most followed location of words from the farthest ( 1 ) to the nearest (14) to the noun, though writers may not follow it in their literary works:

1. Determiner: both, all, half.

2. Definite article: the

3. Ordinal number: first, last.

4. Cardinal number: one, two, three…

5. General judgement: important, great, good, bad, nice…

6. Physical characteristics: small, fat, slim, big, little, tall, thin…

7. Mental characteristics: awkward, intelligent, stupid…

8. Age or temperature: cold, hot, young, old, warm…

9. Shape: rounded, square, elliptical, circular…

10. Colour: purple, green, blue, red…

11. Verb participle form: threatening, running, ruined, punished, rotten, despised, thought…

12. Material: gilded, golden, wooden...

13. Origin, nationality: Dutch, Brazilian, French, Swiss, Norwegian…

14. Noun used as adjective: steel, silver, wool, animal, bear, fox, star…

Now we can start forming sentences in the right order, for instance:

She ate all of the last marvellous big rounded pink decorated cream Belgian chocolate cake.

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