Describing People and Objects
Adjectives
Adjectives are placed directly before nouns to describe certain qualities.
This is a lucrative money market.
The fact that you allowed a bounced check to clear doesn't make you a bad person.
Adjectives are also often used with the verb 'to be' to describe the character of people or things. In this case, place the adjective at the end of the sentence.
The verification turned out to be very taxing
Adjustable rate stock is proving to be very popular.
Adjective Order
It is possible to use a string of adjectives to describe a person, place or thing. When using more than one adjective, use the following pattern to place the adjectives in order before the noun.
Opinion, dimension, age, shape, color, origin, material + noun
NOTE: Use no more than three adjectives to describe a noun.
1. Opinion
Example:
An expense receipt is an important record.
A trustworthy guardian must act on behalf of this minor.
2. Dimension
Example:
My personal property has a large value attached to it.
The large tax base of the city made it's account desirable.
3. Age
Example:
It is a matured treasury bond.
In ancient times, before money, people had to barter if they wanted to trade goods.
4. Shape
Example:
He and the cosigner purchased the rectangular plot of land.
5. Color
Example:
The red column represents fixed costs.
The red numbers indicate unpaid debts in his account history.
6. Origin
Example:
China's voting share is too high for this product.
The government has added value tax on imported furniture to market local products.
7. Material
Example:
We decreased paper waste by switching to a bill on demand policy.
The expensive treasury bond was very valuable.
Here are some examples of nouns modified with three adjectives in the correct order based on the list above.
The quick, easy, digital turnaround is only two days.
The most interesting course assignment in accounting was to write a report on deferred revenue.
The fortunate 21 year old American payee didn't even have a cosigner.
Don't expect a fast turnaround if you renovate a large, old brick building and try to sell it.