We use adjectives to help the reader experience more precisely what we want to convey about a person, place, thing or idea. Sometimes to do that we need more than one adjective. When we use two or more adjectives, we often call them cumulative adjectives.
Cumulative adjectives are two or more adjectives that follow a specific word order of quantity, opinion, size, age/condition, shape/length, color, origin, material and purpose.
What are Cumulative Adjectives?
There are four characteristics of cumulative adjectives.
- Cumulative adjectives are two or more adjectives that work together by building power progressively to modify a noun.
- Cumulative adjectives follow a specific word order.
- Cumulative adjectives cannot be reversed otherwise they will sound incorrect.
- Cumulative adjectives are NOT separated by a comma.
Word Order of Cumulative Adjectives
The word order of cumulative adjectives are: quantity, opinion, size, age/condition, shape/length, color, origin/nationality/religion, material and purpose.
Let’s look at each category so that we can understand how cumulative adjectives work!
1. Quantity
These adjectives of quantity are words that quantify a noun or pronoun. In other words, these adjectives answer the question: “How much?” or “How many?”
These adjectives of quantity can be specific (two or four) or general (several or few).
Some examples of cumulative adjectives of quantity!
- My friend helped me carry several heavy objects in the hardware store.
- Peter took two huge wooden doors to the rubbish tip on Saturday morning.
- I had enough round fittings to finish the plumbing job.
- Rachel didn’t have much spare time to go shopping on Friday afternoon.
- I carried two heavy buckets of water to the vegetable garden.
We know that these adjectives are cumulative adjectives because if we reverse the order, they would sound incorrect. For example: “I carried heavy two buckets of water to the vegetable garden.” Notice it doesn’t sound correct so these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
2. Opinion
These adjectives that convey an opinion are descriptive adjectives like “attractive,” “happy,” “expensive,” “tall,” “nasty,” or “silly.”
Some examples of cumulative adjectives that convey opinion!
- Timothy took two wonderful companions to the movies.
- Rebekah gave a beautiful red dress to her sister for her birthday.
- David went to see two funny Irish comedians at the local theatre.
- Jenny noticed several shinny circular objects in the paint container.
- Peter drove his rusty little Ford car to school every day.
Again we know that these adjectives are cumulative adjectives because if you reverse the order, they would sound incorrect. Take for example: “David went to see Irish funny two comedians at the local theatre.” You will notice that it doesn’t sound correct so these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
3. Size
These adjectives that convey the “size” of something are descriptive word like: “Large,” “huge,” “little” or “small”.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives that conveys size!
- Candice purchased six large square pavers for the garden.
- The snake disappeared down a small round hole in the ground.
- Rachel placed the big round block in the children’s puzzle game.
- A giant blue ford truck rolled over on the highway this morning.
- David lost a tiny circular part from his watch band while working in the garden.
As you can see these adjectives are cumulative adjectives because if you reverse the order, they would sound incorrect. Let’s test an example: “Candice purchased square large six pavers for the garden.” You will notice that it doesn’t sound correct so these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
4. Age/Condition
These adjectives that express age or condition are descriptive words like: “old,” “young,” “middle-aged,” “mature,” “elderly, “original, “infant,” or “ancient”.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives that express age or condition!
- The two young British men were caught stealing in the corner shop.
- The old wooden rocking chair brought a great price at the garage sale.
- We heard some amazing young Asian girls sing at the theatre tonight.
- David bought an old-fashion wooden clock at the antique store while shopping with his wife.
- Our debate team includes several intelligent youthful people.
The above “age” adjectives are cumulative adjectives because if the order is reversed, they would sound incorrect. One example will suffice! “The British young two men were caught stealing in the corner shop.” Notices by reversing the order of these cumulative adjectives they sound incorrect. Therefore, these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
5. Shape/Length
Adjectives of shape and length describe a noun. These adjectives can be specific like: square, round or rectangular; or they can be general like: long, short, tall, wide or flat.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives that convey shape or length!
- My daughter found a few shinny round coins in the toy box.
- David purchased a small rectangular table for his office.
- My dollar coin rolled down a small round hole in the concrete carpark.
- The wide ceramic tile broke before I could put it in place.
- We rode our bikes down a long narrow dirt road on the weekend.
These shape and length adjectives (see above) are cumulative adjectives because if the order is reversed, they would sound incorrect. For example: “My daughter found a few shinny round coins in the toy box.” Notice by reversing the order of these cumulative adjectives they sound incorrect. Therefore, these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
6. Color
We usually used adjectives of color to describe things or people. We use adjectives of color to tell us more about people, places or things like: red, orange, tan, silver, black, white or dark-green.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives of color!
- The farmer hammered a long silver metal picket into the ground to stop the fence falling down.
- The young tanned working man lived in the outback of Australia.
- Sandy and I took a photograph of the beautiful blue sky while walking along the roadside.
- David and Jenny walked through an amazing dark-green forest while on holidays over the weekend.
- Jonathan bought a valuable blue velvet suit for the wedding.
Color adjectives (see above) when used with other adjectives can be cumulative adjectives because if the order is reversed, they would sound incorrect. Let’s examine one example from above: “The farmer hammered a metal silver long picket into the ground to stop the fence falling down.” Notice by reversing the order of these cumulative adjectives they sound incorrect. Therefore, these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
7. Origin/Nationality/Religion
Adjectives that describe origin, nationality or religion are common place. We use these descriptive adjectives to give a clear and concise picture of a person or thing we want to convey to someone else. Words like Asian, American or Christian fall into this group.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives of origin, nationality and religion!
- Jenny found a beautiful old purple Persian rug at the local markets.
- I invited the slim pale Chinese man to the local refuge for a hearty meal.
- Timothy imported an old red American car so that he could add it to his collection of vintage cars.
- Peter met a beautiful young Christian woman at his local church.
- We watched an amazing old Australian film at the local cinema over the weekend.
Adjectives that describe origin, nationality or religion (see above) when used with other adjectives can be cumulative adjectives because if the order is reversed, they would sound incorrect. For example: “Jenny found a Persian purple old beautiful rug at the local markets.” Notice by reversing the order of these cumulative adjectives they sound incorrect. Therefore, these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
8. Material
Adjectives of material help us describe the properties of different materials we find in the world around us.
Words like metal, paper, wooden, cotton fall into this group.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives of material!
- The tiny metal fishing boat sunk in the harbour during the vicious storm last weekend.
- My younger brother drove down a long gravel road before he came to the right farm house.
- Jonathan bought several new grey cotton shirts for work while shopping with his wife over the weekend.
- Rachel saw a beautiful old wooden chest while visiting the second-hand store yesterday.
- Rebekah noticed a shiny metallic object in the water near the fishing pier.
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Adjectives that describe a material (see above) when used with other adjectives can be cumulative adjectives because if the order is reversed, they would sound incorrect. For example: “The fishing metal tiny boat sunk in the harbour during the vicious storm last weekend.” Notice by reversing the order of these cumulative adjectives they sound incorrect. Therefore, these adjectives are cumulative adjectives.
9. Purpose
Adjectives of purpose describe what objects are used for. Words like sleeping (bag), frying (pan), running (water) fall into this group.
Some examples of cumulative adjectives of purpose!
- I bought a new woollen sleeping bag for my weekend camping expedition.
- Rachel and I purchased a new metal frying pan when we move into our new flat.
- A team of volunteers constructed a bore so that the African village could have clean running water.
- We moved the kitchen table into the large living room for David’s birthday party.
- Candice watered the garden with an old plastic watering can.
When we use two or more adjectives in English, we follow a particular word order of quantity, opinion, size, age/condition, shape/length, color, origin, material and purpose. The adjectives are called cumulative adjectives.
Word Order of Cumulative Adjectives!
| Order | Categories | Example Adjectives |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quantity | three, four, five etc |
| 2 | Opinion | amazing, silly, intellectual |
| 3 | Size | tiny, small, large |
| 4 | Age/Condition | mature, young, old |
| 5 | Shape/Length | long, square, rectangular |
| 6 | Color | brown, yellow, pale |
| 7 | Nationality/Religion | African, Christian, Muslin |
| 8 | Material | gravel, linen, metallic |
| 9 | Purpose | swimming (pool), living (room), frying (pan) |
For more information relating to cumulative adjectives, click here.
The word order of cumulative adjectives are: quantity, opinion, size, age/condition, shape/length, color, origin/nationality/religion, material and purpose.
